Dental Implant After-Care: Practical Dos and Don’ts

After having dental implants placed as restoration for your missing teeth, dental implant after-care is incredibly essential. Teeth care helps avoid unnecessary discomfort and complications, allowing you to pay attention to your new smile.

This article explains the entire dental implant after-care procedure from the day of the surgery and the following weeks. If you have had implants placed recently you will benefit by reading this article and following the practical dos and don’ts mentioned.

Proper Teeth Care Must Begin Immediately after the Procedure

Your dental implant care begins immediately after the surgery ends. Arrange for someone to drive you home and try to rest on the drive. The effects of anesthesia will begin to wear off during the drive. Remember not to touch the implant site and avoid vigorous mouth rinsing.

Avoid disturbing the surgical site to ensure the tissues heal appropriately. You must avoid spitting, rinsing, and hard chewing that can cause infections. You can expect some bleeding in the first couple of days.

Control The Bleeding

Bleeding from the implant site or redness in the saliva can last for up to 72 hours after the procedure. The optimal way to control bleeding is to bite down on the gauze pad the dentist placed for about an hour and repeat the process every 6 to 10 hours after you return home.

Managing Discomfort from the Procedure

You can expect some discomfort after a surgical procedure, and your dentist or oral surgeon is fully aware of this challenge. Dentists recommend over-the-counter pain medications starting just before the anesthesia begins wearing off or if you feel the discomfort is severe. If you experience severe pain, you can contact your dentist for more potent prescription painkillers. You will experience pain for about 96 hours after the surgery, accompanied by stiffness in the throat and difficulties swallowing. Contact your dentist for advice if you experience these symptoms.

Minimizing Swelling and Bruising

The day following the surgery, you will notice bruising and swelling on your face. If you have had a sinus lift, you may experience bruising around your nose and eyes. The discoloration peaks in 48 to 72 hours after your return but will disappear by itself.

You can use an ice pack to control the swelling and keep it on your face for intervals of 15 to 20 minutes. Some over-the-counter products have anti-inflammatory effects but be careful about using them because they can inhibit the healing process.

Get Sufficient Rest

You can return to work the following day after the surgery. However, if your job requires strenuous activity, it will help you take some time off. A week following the surgery, do not indulge in any physical exertion or exercise. Get eight hours of sleep every night to help your healing process proceed smoothly.

Maintain Dental Hygiene Appropriately

You may be happy your new dental restorations are cavity resistant, but it does not mean you can neglect proper oral hygiene even during the healing period. To recover appropriately, the soft tissues around the implant need a hygienic environment. Allowing any infections to infect can result in implant failure.

Brush your teeth as you usually would the evening of the day of the surgery, avoiding contact with the implant. Use warm water with some salt to rinse your mouth after every meal to remove food debris. Continue with this procedure for a week, after which you can use chlorhexidine rinse if suggested by the dentist in Greeley.

Dental implants provide natural-looking and feeling artificial teeth to replace your natural teeth. Do not think the artificial replacements don’t need any care after placement. If you are a smoker, stay away from the habit until you have healed entirely. You must also abstain from alcohol for at least 72 hours after implant placement.

Dental Visits

Fourteen days following implant placement, you must schedule an appointment with your dentist to remove any sutures remaining in your mouth. Your dentist assesses how your healing progresses and advises any recommendations they may have for you during your visits.

Even after the healing is over and you have your artificial teeth fixed to the implant, you must continue dental visits regularly to ensure you are not affected by gum disease, a leading cause of implant failure.

Dental implants are not shock absorbers, and if you grind and clench your teeth when sleeping, your dentist will identify the issue and create a customized mouth guard for the safety of your dental implants.

Follow the suggestions mentioned in this article to care for your dental implants in the best way possible.