Encouraging Toddler Dental Care

« Back to Home

Oral Health: Tips To Prepare For Your Dental Appointment

Posted on

Visiting your dentist is a necessity for your overall oral health and can entail any number of procedures, depending on your particular situation. It is best to talk to your dentist about what you need to do or not do before your dentist appointment. But the following tips should help put you in the right direction.

Food and Your Appointment

Your dentist has probably told you to abstain from eating a heavy meal before your visit. A heavy meal may cause a bad reaction between you and some of the sedatives your dentist might need to use.

You should, however, eat a small snack or light meal an hour or so before visiting your dentist, as you might get hungry during your appointment. Hunger can make you feel weak, and you do not want to faint during a procedure. Hunger also puts your salivary glands on alert and will activate when your dentist starts to work in your mouth. Saliva makes it hard for your dentist to work on your mouth, such as bonding a crown on a tooth.

Do Not Alter Your Blood

Yes, a little food is okay, as long as your dentist agrees with it. But there are certain foods and habits that can alter your blood. These alterations could make it hard for your body to heal after your visit.

For one, you have to avoid smoking, as cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine can create blood clots because it shrinks your arteries. Your mouth, gums, and teeth will have a hard time recuperating if your blood is having trouble supplying healing vitamins and minerals.

You also want to avoid blood thinners just in case your dentist does have to make an incision. Blood thinners may make you bleed more than usual. Excessive bleeding can lead you to feel weak or tired.

And avoid the following:

  • Alcohol
  • Garlic
  • Avocados
  • Salmon
  • Almonds

You can ask your dentist about any other measures that you need to take before visiting the dentist.

Calm Yourself Safely

Some people feel uneasy about visiting the dentist and opt to take calming drugs before the visit. This is not something you want to do, as this may interfere with a sedative that your dentist might have to administer.

Thankfully, you can just eat a piece of dark chocolate to calm yourself down. Chocolate contains several stress-relieving ingredients like cannabinoids that should help you feel a little better about your visit. And chocolate should not interact negatively with any drug administered by your dentist.

Talk with a dentist like Ann L Ortega DDS if you have questions about how to best prepare for any dental visit.


Share