Dental Surgery, Recovery and Kava

[25Watts]

A search of the forums revealed some great questions and answers regarding pre-operative use of kava (and whether one should or should not discontinue prior to surgery). My question is about the other side of the coin - the recovery from surgery.

Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts and/or data & research regarding the impact kava would have on wound healing and recovery post dental implant surgery. It's been a few days since the procedure, all is well, no pain meds required, and I'd love to resume my regular kava sessions. However, I have lingering concerns about the rumors I hear about kava lowering platelet count and the potential impact that could have on the speed or effectiveness of healing the surgical site. Should I just wait the two weeks until the stitches are out?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[The Kap'n]

A search of the forums revealed some great questions and answers regarding pre-operative use of kava (and whether one should or should not discontinue prior to surgery). My question is about the other side of the coin - the recovery from surgery.

Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts and/or data & research regarding the impact kava would have on wound healing and recovery post dental implant surgery. It's been a few days since the procedure, all is well, no pain meds required, and I'd love to resume my regular kava sessions. However, I have lingering concerns about the rumors I hear about kava lowering platelet count and the potential impact that could have on the speed or effectiveness of healing the surgical site. Should I just wait the two weeks until the stitches are out?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Sure, it can lower your platelet count if you drink several tanker trucks worth

Seriously, these studies that show these weird effects are the results of using extremely large amounts of kavalactone extracts, and usually the studies are in vitro.

Now, I'm not a doctor, but if it were me, I'd be drinking my kava right about now, especially if you've not had to take any meds.

 

[25Watts]

That's what I've been suspecting too. It seems to me that kava is in actuality a very gentle plant that does very little to negatively impact the body, and does much positive.

Studies do indeed tend to focus on large doses, weird and non-traditional extraction methods, and situations that are unlikely to occur in actual practice. I mean... they say that garlic inhibits platelet production too, and not only is that a core component of my diet that I won't be changing, I don't think anyone would tell you that garlic is bad for you!

My gut says that any so-called "dangers" of kava are on par with other "normal" things we consume regularly such as garlic, onions, leafy greens and other things I would never consider dangerous (seriously... cranberries and and green tea are on the same lists! Even chamomile! I mean... come on...).

Nevertheless, when it comes to one's personal health it's difficult to not panic when you see headlines that report liver damage, cholesterol changes, low platelet counts, etc... It's important to keep it in perspective, in context, and be able to separate out the wildly unsupported headlines from the truth. Which is exactly why I sought opinions and experience here. Thanks for adding yours and helping me to relax about it!

(editing to add: And let's not forget about the dangers of consuming too much water! Yes, anything to an extreme can be bad. Most things that I'm talking about here - including kava - are a net positive at normal human doses)

 

[Artofkava]

A search of the forums revealed some great questions and answers regarding pre-operative use of kava (and whether one should or should not discontinue prior to surgery). My question is about the other side of the coin - the recovery from surgery.

Specifically, I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts and/or data & research regarding the impact kava would have on wound healing and recovery post dental implant surgery. It's been a few days since the procedure, all is well, no pain meds required, and I'd love to resume my regular kava sessions. However, I have lingering concerns about the rumors I hear about kava lowering platelet count and the potential impact that could have on the speed or effectiveness of healing the surgical site. Should I just wait the two weeks until the stitches are out?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Hey therre!

Im a bit late to the party on this one. I did the exact same thing ur talking about.

First. Im not a doctor. Talk ti them about nuance stuff. This is just my experience.

I had kava before surgery but nit right before or same day. They tell u to fast and so i did. They numbed me up and lifted me out of my chair as i cheered my dentist on out of the side of my mouth "you got this bro!" Haha. No joke lifted me up by my tooth out of my chair. Pretty fun. The toot was really in there.

Afterwards lots of pain and i figired hey might as well try kava. Doc said drink slow and steady. Dont let air in there ir ull get dry socket. Which sounds like basically the worst thing that can happen outside of leprosy lol. Maybe im being dramatic but thats what was going thru my mind.

So with a careful hand i prepared a witches brew of just about thr strongest kava ive ever made. It was hard to choke down at the time with all the stuff in my mouth, pain etc but i did it.

Well. I felt fantastic....aside from the throbbing pain in my mouth, i was as calm as a cat in a sunny window....

So the kava did absolutely nothing for my spot pain.

After it wore off i tried the Tylenol. Worked like a charm. They gave me some sort of addictive pill too but i never used them and gave them back to the pharmacy after.

Some people swear by kava for pain and even spot pain but it did not work for me in that way. I was right as rain tho haha.

Hope that helps

Zac H.

 

[Lenticels]

Good luck to anyone with dental and/or periodontal issues, fairly ephemeral or otherwise!

NOT fun...

 

[Jean]

I can only report on my very personal experience and, as somebody said, an individual experience cannot be generalized. I've drunk kava over 20 years and got meanwhile 6 dental implants and the 4 wisdom teeth removed. I didn't experience any drawback drinking kava a few days after the operation. I wouldn't have drunk however directly after the operation, not wanting the small kava particles to go into the wounds. I'm however not sure that my fear is supported by medical evidence.

 

[25Watts]

A quick update should anyone be searching for answers to their own questions regarding kava and dental surgery recovery / interaction.

Based upon the great feedback here (thank you!) I jumped in and started my regular kava sessions again following my dental surgery. Not only did it not have any negative impact on my healing and recovery, but when I went in two weeks later to have the stitches removed, the first words out of the doctor's mouth upon seeing the surgical site was "Wow! This looks like it's been healing for two months, not two weeks!"

So while I won't attribute the accelerated healing to the kava specifically or solely, I can confirm that in my case at least, kava absolutely did not interfere with any healing and recovery. I have zero worries now about any biological impediments to recovery while drinking kava, and the psychological and psychoneuroimmunological benefits are an obvious positive asset in surgical recovery.


*edited to eliminate a repetitive word choice