What Is Recovery From Dental Implants Like?

So you’ve finally taken the plunge and are scheduled to get dental implants, congratulations! Dental implants are an incredible way of managing your oral health and ensuring that you keep a beautiful and functional smile for years to come. These replacements are far and away the best option we have available for restoring missing teeth and preserving the structure of the jaw after teeth have been extracted. Following your procedure, however, there are going to be some things you want to do to ensure that you start off your healing process well and get to enjoy your new implants for years to come.

What Should I Do Following The Dental Implant Surgery?

So you’ve just come out of sedation with your new implants, and the dentist advises you that your mouth will be packed with gauze over the surgery site. This gauze is there to help capture any bleeding that may follow the surgery itself and to help you to gently apply pressure to encourage the bleeding to stop. An hour later you’ll be able to remove this admittedly uncomfortable substance, but that’s just the beginning of your journey to recovery! From there on out you’ll want to do the following:

• Leave the surgical area undisturbed – This is critical for ensuring that your surgery site heals properly. Gentle rinsing and a very soft brushing can be done, but otherwise leave it be.
• Refrain from smoking – Dry socket is an unpleasant and painful experience, and smoking is one of the greatest contributors to it. You should stop smoking until the healing process is over.
• Keep It Clean – Brush gently once or twice a day and be sure to rinse after every meal, swishing the water around your mouth gently. Do not spit, instead just hang your head over the sink and let the water fall out of your open mouth. This avoids injury to your surgical site.
• Take It Easy – Don’t do any kind of physical activity following the surgery, the increase in activity can lead to swelling, bleeding, and pain at the surgical site. Take care when moving from a sitting or laying position to a standing one.
• Apply Ice – Ice is a good way to help reduce swelling, and one good way to apply is to take the ice and put it into two ziplock bags, and then slide those bags into the legs of a pair of pantyhose. By tying it carefully, you can place it on your head which will allow the ice to rest over the surgical site.

These steps will help you recover nicely from your dental implant surgery, and get you on the road to being able to enjoy your new teeth without problems! The recovery from dental implant surgery can take some time, and it’s important that you take every precaution to ensure that you heal properly from this procedure. If you’re preparing to get dental implants to give Dr. Deborah Tabb a call at Bethesda Family Dentistry and take advantage of their years of experience with dental implants!