Congratulations, you’ve gone through dental implant surgery and now have a brand-new set of beautiful white teeth to help you take on the world. Now that the hard part’s done, it’s time to learn the steps of maintaining your teeth through the post-operation recovery. This is arguably one of the most important periods of receiving implants, and its the last hurdle before a lifetime with a beautiful smile. To make sure you get to keep and enjoy those wonderful new teeth, the following post-operative guidelines should be followed.
The Rules Of Implant Recovery
- While the recovery time for incision wounds from this surgery tend to be brief, this only holds true if you maintain proper maintenance of your implants post-surgery. Listen to your oral surgeon!
- Rest and relaxation are the orders of the day for the two days following surgery, so no strenuous activity!
- General or IV Sedation may have been administered during your surgery, which can result in periods of dizziness, sleepiness, or feeling light-headed. Make sure you have company for at least 12 hours after the surgery.
- We know, you really want to take a look at the surgical site to see how everything looks, but pulling on your lips or cheeks can damage your sutures and delay healing.
- Watch out for swelling! The area is likely to be quite agitated and swollen for some time after the surgery, an ice pack can help. Just apply ice to your face in 15-minute intervals for the first day. Follow this with warm moist heat after the first 24 hours. Sometime in the first 40 hours, your swelling will peak, if it gets worse after that, call your oral surgeon.
- Let’s face it, it may be pretty, but it wasn’t easy on your body getting it done. Bruising can show up above or below the surgical site within the first couple of days after the surgery.
- Warm salt water makes a great mouth rinse and should be done frequently before bedtime and after meals for the first week. Moderate your consumption of non-water drinks during the healing process.
- Smoking in the first 24 hours following your surgery can be seriously detrimental to your healing process, drying out the tissues and encouraging bleeding.
- DO NOT USE STRAWS. The suction action associated with straw use can damage the sutures and impair healing.
Your Road To Recovery
Following the above steps should be combined with the consumption of soft, but nutritious, foods. We suggest Ice Cream, Oatmeal, Yogurt, Baked or Mashed Potatoes, Pudding, soft-cooked vegetables, and soups. All of these are full of nutrition you’re going to need during the healing process. Throughout this period you’re also going to want to ensure that you communicate with your dentist regularly and take your medications as they’re prescribed. All of these will ensure that you get to enjoy your new set of teeth for a lifetime, happy and healthy.