After Placement Of Dental Implants

What to Do After Placement of Dental Implants

After care for dental implants is crucial to ensure proper healing and long-term success. After placement of your Dental Implants it is important to take the following steps:

Do not disturb the wound. You should avoid rinsing, spitting, or touching the wound on the day of surgery. In some cases, there will be a metal healing abutment protruding through your gum tissue.

Bleeding

Some bleeding or redness in your saliva is normal for 24 hours. As part of your after care for dental implants, excessive bleeding—where your mouth fills up rapidly with blood—can be controlled by biting on a gauze pad placed directly on the bleeding wound for 30 minutes. If bleeding continues, please call us for further instructions.

Swelling

Swelling is a normal occurrence after surgery. As part of your after care for dental implants, to minimize swelling, apply an ice pack, plastic bag, or towel filled with ice on the cheek in the area of your surgery. Apply the ice as often as possible for the first 48 hours.

Diet

As part of your after care for dental implants, you should drink plenty of fluids and avoid hot liquids or food. Soft food and liquids should be eaten on the day of your surgery. You can return to a normal diet as soon as possible unless otherwise directed.

Pain

You should begin taking pain medication before you feel the local anesthetic wearing off. For moderate pain, one to two Tylenol® or Tylenol® Extra Strength may be taken every three to four hours. Ibuprofen (Advil® or Motrin®) may be taken instead of Tylenol®. Ibuprofen, bought over the counter comes in 200 mg tablets.  Two to three tablets may be taken every three to four hours as needed for pain. For severe pain, the prescribed medication should be taken as directed. You should not take any of the above medication if you are allergic, or have been instructed by your doctor not to take it.

Antibiotics

Be sure to take your prescribed antibiotics as directed to help prevent infection.

Oral Hygiene as After Care for Dental Implants

Good oral hygiene is essential to good healing. The night of your surgery, if prescribed, use the Peridex Oral Rinse before bed. The day after your surgery, the Peridex should be used twice daily, after breakfast and before bed. Be sure to rinse for at least 30 seconds then spit it out. Warm salt-water rinses (one teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) should be used at least four to five times a day, as well, especially after meals. Brushing your teeth with the healing abutments is not a problem. Please be gentle initially when brushing the surgical areas.

Activity

You should keep physical activities to a minimum immediately following surgery. Exercise may cause throbbing or bleeding. If this occurs, you should discontinue your exercise. Keep in mind you are probably not eating normally and this may further limit your usual abilities.

Wearing Your Prosthesis

Partial dentures, flippers, or full dentures should not be used immediately after your surgery unless instructed otherwise and for one week. This would have been discussed in your preoperative consultation.