Recovery From Surgery

As you contemplate replacing your missing tooth with a dental implant, you need to think about the surgical process and the recovery. It is important to know how the procedure will affect your life immediately after the operation and in the long term. This is important so that you can prepare yourself both physically and psychologically. Continue reading to learn more about recovery from dental implants.

Will I Feel Pain After Surgery?

Although the surgery is quite invasive, the pain is relatively minimal because the surgeon will only make a tiny incision in your gum and drill a small hole in the jawbone. Since the bone doesn’t have a nerve ending, you won’t feel pain. Furthermore, your doctor will give you prescription drugs to relieve the pain and discomfort after the surgery.

Can You Eat After Dental Implant Surgery?

It is not advisable to eat immediately after the surgery because the wound is still fresh, and you have a set of gauzes meant to help you place light pressure on the surgical site. So, you should only eat something soft or have a drink after an hour or two when you can remove the first set of gauzes. For the first 24 hours after the surgery, you should not take hot drinks or use a straw. You should move on to more solid food as the days go by. But you should be guided by your comfort level.

How Much Rest Do I Need?

Since this procedure is quite invasive, you will be given anesthesia to keep you comfortable during surgery. Therefore, you should not attempt to drive a vehicle or operate a machine immediately after the surgery because the effect of anesthesia takes up to 24 hours to fade away completely. You should also avoid heavy lifting or any other rigorous activity for at least one week. Give yourself enough time to rest so that your body can recover quickly.

How Long Does Dental Implant Recovery Take?

Your recovery period depends on several factors. For instance, if you are replacing a single tooth without bone grafting, full recovery can take just a few days or weeks. But if you are replacing several teeth and you need a bone graft, the recovery period can take weeks or months. Other factors include your overall health, age, and hygiene. If you have other underlying health problems that might delay the healing process, your recovery from dental implants will take longer.

Dental implants have made it possible for people to resume their everyday lives even after losing their teeth to infections, trauma, or congenital conditions. These implants are designed to attach to the jawbone permanently, allowing you to chew, talk, and perform other tasks with your mouth with no discomfort. However, their placement is extremely invasive and will leave you with sore and swollen gum for a few days.

Therefore, recovering from a dental implant procedure requires special care and attention. You must do several important things after this procedure to optimize your recovery and the results. If something goes wrong during recovery, it will have a long-term effect on your dental implants. Here are the three things to avoid after getting dental implants.

Smoking

After surgery, your mouth needs a conducive environment to heal properly and for the osseointegration process to go on successfully. This integration process is important as it enables your jawbone to develop and grow around the implants, thus creating a firm foundation for your teeth replacements. Smoking and chewing tobacco affect the healing process, which ultimately interferes with the osseointegration process. So, it would help if you quit smoking at least for a few weeks to allow your mouth to heal.

Intense Physical Activities

Since dental implant surgery involves making incisions in your gums, you face the risk of excessive bleeding if you engage in intense physical activities immediately after surgery. So, you should rest as much as possible and avoid strenuous activities for at least two days after the procedure. If you have to go back to work, seek guidance from your doctor.

Excessive Rinsing of Mouth

Until you are fully healed, do not rinse your mouth vigorously because it will disturb the surgical sites and cause excessive bleeding. Doctors advise against the use of mouthwash a day or two after surgery. Even after the two days, you should gently swish the mouthwash around your mouth, making sure that you do not irritate the surgical sites. Also, do not spit the mouthwash out; just let it flow out slowly over the sink.

Two days after the procedure, start brushing the surgical sites gently with a soft toothbrush (preferably with soft bristles). Work gently on the sides, front, and back of the implant site without pushing the toothbrush too hard. Also, do not floss your teeth or use an electric toothbrush for at least two weeks after the surgery.