3 Helpful Tips to Follow After Bone Grafting / Sinus Lifting
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If you are about to have a sinus lift / bone grafting done, be knowledgeable and prepared to know what should be done after the surgery.
You don’t want a complication – this may lead to the loss of the bone graft, loss of implant and a more difficult surgery to redo later.
Here are three important home care musts to decrease complications after surgery:
- Keep the rest of the mouth exceptionally clean. Use mouth rinsing after each meal / up to 5 times a day. Lower bacterial counts in the mouth decreases significantly the risk of post surgery surgery.
- Start icing the area right after surgery which helps reduce potential swelling before it occurs. There is no need to wait until the swelling occurs.
- Eat softer foods with high nutrition. If the implants are placed at the same time with the bone graft, ensure your diet is soft up to 8 weeks afterwards. Avoid hard foods even if chewing only on the opposite side because heavy chewing causes flexing of the jaw. The newly placed implants may be disturbed with heavy forces. High nutrition is essential to help the body heal.
The above images display a case in which we placed implants in a smoker. We were able to place the bone graft and implants at the same time. The image shows the new bone and the “lifting” of the sinus with the bone graft. The patient followed our 3 strict advice protocol because he was aware his situation was considered high risk for infection. We often like to place implants with bone graft whenever possible the same time to avoid a second surgery.
New developments in techniques and science on wound healing have made it possible for some smokers to have implant treatment. Not all cases are possible and failure is a possibility. Now once banned completely from having these implant procedures, some may be candidates. Westcoast in Vietnam has successfully treated many smokers with dental implants. Of course, quitting smoking before surgery is always strongly advised.