If you plan to have dental implants placed in your mouth in the near future, you may wonder if there's a way to speed up or reduce the healing time. When patients don't want to wait two to three months or longer for their implant sites to heal, a dentist uses special devices called collars, or healing caps, to help the gums heal faster. A dentist can place the caps immediately after inserting the dental implants or sometime later. Here's more information about collars and how you can help speed up your recovery time after dental implant surgery.

What Are Healing Caps?

Healing caps resemble tiny, metal disks that fit securely over the metal posts of implants. The caps feature small indentations in their centers, which are surrounded by lines and numbers. The dentist treating you may use other types of healing caps, so keep this in mind during your future treatment.

The devices are designed to protect the implants from bacteria. Although it's an uncommon problem with dental implants today, bacteria can potentially infect dental implant sites during and after placement. Covering the posts is essential to helping you heal. 

In addition, gum tissue can grow over the tops of your implants as it heals. If you didn't use caps right away, a dentist would need to make a small incision, or cut, in the gums to uncover the implant posts later. The caps eliminate this step.

It's important that you care for your implants and their caps at home during the healing process. 

How Can You Help Speed Up Your Recovery Time?

One of the things you might do to help your gums and implant sites heal is eat a balanced diet each day. Although you may expect a dentist to place you on a soft-food diet during the healing time, you can still enjoy healthy foods, such as all-natural mashed potatoes with garlic or fruit smoothies with fat-free milk. Foods that provide vitamin C, A and E may help boost your immune system, which encourages your body to stay healthy and heal.

Also, be sure to brush and floss your implants daily. A dental provider may prescribe a dental implant toothbrush to help you accomplish this goal. If you can't use regular floss because of implant discomfort, you may use an electric water flosser instead. But be sure to discuss using a flosser with a provider before doing so. They may have restrictions on what you can and can't use during your healing time.

For more information about healing caps, contact a dentist near you today.

For dental implant restoration, contact a company such as Tijeras Dental Service.