Recovery Instructions After Dental Implant Surgery or Implant Treatment
- Mild pain, bleeding, swelling, and oozing at the surgical site are common in the days following oral surgery, so please avoid pulling on your lip to inspect the area and do not probe it with your tongue or fingers. Please contact our office right away if bleeding or discomfort remains severe beyond 48 to 72 hours.
- Over-the-counter ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be taken as needed, following either the label directions or any specific guidance our office has given you.
- Swelling of the face, eyes, and surgical area is common and often becomes most noticeable two to three days after the procedure. Holding a cold compress against the cheek near the implant site can help control swelling. When using an ice pack, always keep a cloth between the ice and your skin rather than applying it directly, limiting each application to 20 minutes on and at least 20 minutes off as needed. Cold therapy no longer helps after about 36 hours, at which point switching to moist heat on the sides of the face can help reduce any remaining swelling.
- Rinsing gently with warm salt water, about one-half teaspoon dissolved in an eight-ounce glass of water, three times a day, can bring relief.
- Please avoid brushing directly over the surgical site, though the rest of your mouth should still be brushed and flossed as our office has instructed.
- For the first 24 hours after your surgery, please do not drink through a straw, brush, rinse, spit, or smoke.
- You may notice some sensitivity to cold and heat during the first 24 hours, so it is best to avoid hot or spicy foods as well as carbonated and alcoholic beverages during this time.
- Please take it easy on the day of your surgery, limiting strenuous work or activity, and plan to resume your normal routine the next day as you are able.
- Starting the day after your surgery, gently rinse with warm salt water, roughly one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight-ounce glass of water, three times a day.
- During the first several days after surgery, keep your diet limited to liquids and soft foods, such as soup, yogurt, juice, and smoothies.
- Please follow any additional instructions given during your office visit, and take all prescribed medications, including antibiotics, exactly as directed to help prevent infection.
- If you wear a denture that overlaps the implant site, please limit its use after surgery so the area has a chance to heal. After about a week, you can begin gradually increasing how long you wear it.
- Keeping your scheduled follow-up appointment or appointments is important so we can monitor your healing progress.
- Please call our office promptly if pain or swelling seems to be getting worse rather than better after a few days.