Medical and dental treatment can put your body through the ringer, so it’s vital to relax and take it easy afterwards. If you’ve had dental surgery, here are some top tips to help you rest and relax.

Arrange a lift home

If you’ve had oral surgery or you’ve had treatment under sedation, you won’t be able to drive, so make sure you arrange a lift home. Ask a friend or relative to stay with you while you have treatment, and then drive you home.

Book time off work

If you know you’re having dental treatment, it’s a good idea to book a couple of days off work. You don’t want to do anything too strenuous when your body is healing, and you probably won’t feel like working even if you haven’t got any pain.

Take it easy

When you get home, it’s important to take things easy. Don’t try and start cleaning, doing household chores or working. Relax with a book, have a nap or put the TV on.

Avoid strenuous activity

Even if you feel fine, don’t do anything strenuous for the first few days after you’ve had dental surgery. You may feel like you want to get back to normal and start going to the gym, for example, but give your body a bit of time to rest and recover first.

Stick to soft food

If you’ve had surgery your mouth may feel sore for a short period of time. Biting down on hard foods may cause you added discomfort, so opt for foods that are easy to eat like mashed potato, scrambled eggs and yoghurt.