Dental implant surgery is an affordable way to improve your smile and replace damaged or missing teeth. Dental implant surgery requires a visit to your dentist, and recovery depends on what you do on the day of your surgery, as well as in the days and weeks after the procedure.
Here’s what you need to know, do, and expect when you make an appointment for dental implants.
Immediately After Your Dental Implant Surgery
For about an hour after surgery, you’ll need to keep gauze packs in your mouth at the site of your new dental implants. Gauze helps control the bleeding until it stops. You may need to replace the gauze packs with new ones if the bleeding doesn’t subside after the first hour. Wetting the gauze with some water can make it easier to position around the surgical site.
Caring for the Teeth on the Day of Surgery
You may think brushing your teeth the day of your implant surgery will help keep the area clean, but it’s important to brush them gently after your surgery. You can restart bleeding at the surgical sites if you brush too harshly, so it’s a good idea to brush as gently as possible to clean the mouth but not aggravate the surgical site.
Activity Levels After Dental Implant Surgery
Although you might not feel that teeth implants represent major surgery from which you must recover, it’s still important to remember that your body must heal the area where the tooth implant surgery was performed.
Rest is the body’s best tool for recovery, and getting as much rest as possible in the 24 hours after your surgery is advisable. Your surgery will make it tough to eat as much as you normally do, so hitting the treadmill is an activity of which you should hold off on for at least three to four days. More strenuous activities like weight lifting should wait until 1-2 weeks after your surgery.
Quickening the Dental Implant Healing Process
You’ll want to treat the surgical area gently the day after the surgery, and you can begin to rinse your mouth with saltwater or the prescribed antibiotic rinse between 24 and 48 hours after the surgery. A good mixture is eight ounces of water mixed with one tablespoon of salt. You can rinse your mouth two or three times a day after meals. You’ll also want to avoid smoking during the healing process because the habit can create dry sockets and slow the pace of healing.
What if the Bleeding Doesn’t Stop?
You should be prepared for the surgical site to “ooze” blood for anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after the surgery. Replacing gauze packs and treating the area as gently as possible will help reduce the rate of bleeding. If you experience persistent bleeding, you might be holding the gauze packs too tightly, but you can call your dentist if the bleeding continues and seems uncontrolled despite the use of gauze and ice packs.
Consider Dental Implant Surgery from FastNewSmile® Dental
Enjoy the protection of a Lifetime Guarantee when you choose to reclaim your smile with dental implants from FastNewSmile® Dental Implant Center. We specialize in dental implants, and we’re confident our personal care and professional service will result in an excellent experience and years of enjoying a brand new smile. Contact us today to learn more!