Dental implant surgery is—unsurprisingly—surgery, and not a particularly minor operation at that. Therefore, there’ll be a few things you’ll want to take into consideration and be prepared for when it’s time to recover from your procedure.
The healing period is a fairly long one, with around 3 to 6 months needed after the installation of the implant during the first procedure alone. The good news is isn’t as scary as it might sound, as you’ll be able to return to normal activities after only a few days, although nevertheless, there’ll be some symptoms you can expect to have to deal with.
Your surgeon will be able to talk you through everything in greater detail during your initial consultation, but in the mean time, the following is a broad guide to what you can expect when recovering from your dental implants Turkey
Pain and Discomfort
Pain and discomfort are unfortunately unavoidable consequences of dental implant surgery, or any form of surgery for that matter. The pain and discomfort you experience after your procedure won’t be so intense that it can’t be treated with some easily available over the counter painkillers though, if your dental surgeon hasn’t already prescribed you something to help deal with the pain.
Bleeding, Bruising, and Swelling
Some degree of bleeding, bruising, and swelling can always be expected in the first few days that follow any surgical procedure. This shouldn’t take long to die down though, and when you do experience some bleeding around the implant, bite down on the gauze to put pressure on it. This will help it to absorb the blood.
Eating
Your dental surgeon will provide you with a plan for how and what you should and shouldn’t eat following your dental implant surgery, which will be important to ensure you don’t negatively impact the healing process.
For the first few days after your procedure you’ll only be able to consume liquids or foods that have been pureed. It’s also important that you don’t use a straw during this time, as the pressure using one creates could place unwanted stress on the still healing implants and cause them to bleed.
Once it’s been a few days your implant should have healed enough to feel a lot stronger and more of a natural part of your jaw, and you’ll be able to slowly and carefully return to eating solid foods again. You won’t want to go straight in right away eating whatever you want, but If you take your time and slowly build your way up then you’ll be back to normal in no time. While for the most part you should be able to get back to eating how you normally would again after around a week to 10 days, in some cases you may need to stick to a diet of soft foods for as many as 6 weeks.
Oral Hygiene
At no point will you want to ever avoid brushing, but you’ll want to at least be very careful and light-handed at first in the way you brush around your implant. After a few days or weeks you should be able to return to how you’d regularly brush as you feel the pain of the implant subsiding. It’s always vital that the area is kept clean, and that any small pieces of food aren’t getting stuck around the area.
You’ll also want to ensure you’re rinsing your mouth with salt water at least 2 to 3 times a day for the first few days after your dental implant surgery, while frequently cleaning your mouth with mouthwash too. It’s vital that you ensure your implant is kept clean and healthy if the procedure is to be a success.
Exercising
You’ll want to avoid any and all exercise for at least the first 3 to 4 days that follow your dental implant surgery, as any bleeding, bruising, swelling, or general discomfort you may be experiencing around the area would likely become exacerbated by the increase in blood flow. After it’s been around 3 to 4 days, you can slowly start to ease yourself back into any exercise regimes you may have, but you should always be wary of any discomfort you may experience around the dental implant.
If you partake in any sports that could disrupt or potentially damage your implant, then you’ll want to ensure you wear a mouth guard or head protection from now on in order to prevent any potential issues.
Wearing Dentures
If you would typically wear dentures, you’ll want to try to avoid doing so as much as possible after you’ve undergone your dental implant surgery. This is to ensure that the area is given the best possible chance at healing, as the dentures could cause the area to become aggravated and slow the healing process down, which could in turn lead to bleeding.
You won’t have to worry about avoiding your dentures entirely, as many rely on them to be able to eat. But you’ll want to avoid wearing them wherever possible, especially if doing so isn’t entirely necessary. After a few days the area should’ve healed enough for wearing them not to be an issue, although you should never wear them while sleeping at night.
Smoking
For any patients looking to undergo dental implant surgery who’re smokers, your surgeon will take you through in great detail all of the risks and complications that can arise as a result, along with explaining how smoking greatly increases the chances that your implant may fail.
It’s therefore highly important that you stop smoking no fewer than 2 weeks prior to your dental implant surgery, and that you keep it up for the several month duration of the procedure as a whole. If you fail to do so, then you’ll be at an increased risk of infection and the healing process will be greatly slowed down, which can have a huge impact on the success of your dental implant surgery and leave you susceptible to a number of complications.
