Caring For Dental Implants After Surgery: A Helpful Guide

Dental implants are the best long-term option for replacing one, several, or even a full mouth of missing teeth. Not only do they look, feel, and function just like “real” teeth, but they can last decades with proper care and at-home oral hygiene. However, dental implants do take longer and have a more complicated recovery process compared to alternative tooth replacement treatments like dentures and bridges.

In this guide from Lakeshore Dental Specialists, we’ll break down everything you need to know about caring for your dental implants as you recover after oral surgery. We’ll also provide some advice on how to protect your investment in dental implants for the long-term. If you’re considering dental implants in Metro Detroit, MI, this guide will help you learn a bit more about what you can expect from the process.

Your Guide To Dental Implant Care After Surgery

During your dental implant surgery, your dentist at Lakeshore Dental Specialists will clean and numb your mouth, place a titanium implant into your jawbone and gums, and then suture it up. This process will be repeated if you’re getting multiple implants.

Once your surgery is over, you’ll be sent home with a set of recovery instructions to follow in order to reduce your risk of complications like gum infections and implant failure. Wondering what to expect? Below, we’ve put together some information and care tips for every stage of the post-surgery dental implant care timeline.

24 hours after surgery

Right after your surgery, you’ll be sent home with a gauze pack to absorb any blood from your implant site (should be minimal to none). Bleeding should slow and mostly stop within a few hours. Here are a few tips for managing the first 24 hours after your surgery:

• Take the rest of the day off from work to rest and recover, if possible.
• Lie down with your head elevated to help reduce discomfort and bleeding.
• Eat liquid foods like milkshakes, smoothies, and smooth broth-based soups.
• Do not drink through a straw or spit forcefully, as this can disturb your blood clots, a.k.a the healing process.
• You can take prescription painkillers (if prescribed) or over-the-counter medication to help with discomfort, however, most patients experience very minimal to zero pain after a dental implant. Most people might need ibuprofen or tylenol at the most for the first day or two.
• Do not brush the extraction site or your teeth. Instead, use a prescription mouth rinse or salt water rinse to clean your mouth gently.
• Don’t smoke, vape, or use any other tobacco or nicotine product, as these can interfere with the healing of the implant site.

24-72 hours after surgery

During this time, your discomfort should start to fade, and you should no longer be noticing any prolonged or extensive bleeding, though occasional spots of blood can still happen. Overall, you should be feeling a bit better than you did after the first day. Here are some tips on recovering during this time:

• You can get back to school or work, but you should continue to avoid heavy physical exertion or exercise for at least a few days.
• You can start eating slightly firmer foods like soft scrambled eggs, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, and soft bread or noodles.
• You can also resume brushing your other teeth normally. Avoid brushing the extraction site directly to avoid disturbing it as it heals.

3-7 days after surgery

During this phase of the recovery process, you should notice a significant reduction in pain, as well as other symptoms like bruising, swelling, and inflammation. This means that you can start getting back to your normal activities with less discomfort and distraction:

• As it becomes more comfortable to chew, you can start incorporating firmer foods into your diet, such as steamed vegetables, lean meats, and cheese.
• You can usually resume physical activity and exercise within 3-4 days, as long as you are not feeling any discomfort or noticing other issues like bleeding from the implant site.
• After a week or so, you can begin brushing the implant site directly. Be very gentle to make sure you don’t disturb the site or interfere with the healing process.

1-2 weeks after surgery

After about a week, your mouth should feel much more comfortable. The gums around your implant site should be mostly healed within about two weeks. Here’s what you should do to ensure a smooth recovery:

• You can begin eating firmer foods as long as they don’t cause you discomfort. However, you should still avoid sticky, gummy, sharp, crunchy, acidic, and spicy foods for a couple more weeks.
• Continue brushing your implant site. You should still be gentle, but it should mostly be healed within 1-2 weeks, so you don’t have to be quite as careful.
• Make sure to come into Lakeshore Dental Specialists for any follow-ups scheduled with Dr. Weiner or our other dentists.

2+ weeks after surgery

Once 2-3 weeks have passed, your implant site should feel pretty much normal. But this is not the end of the recovery process. The gums around your implant will be healed enough that you can resume your normal diet, activities, and oral hygiene routine.

But below the surface of your implant, the process of "osseointegration" will still be taking place. New bone will be forming around the implant, locking it in place and causing it to become a permanent part of your mouth. This takes around 3-6 months.

Long-Term Care Tips For Your New Dental Implant

Wondering how you should be caring for your dental implant once you’ve received your final crown, bridge, or set of implant dentures? Here are some tips that can help you keep your new tooth in great shape for the years and decades to come.

• Maintain a good oral hygiene routine – You should brush your teeth twice daily with ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste, floss once per day, and use alcohol-free mouthwash once per day. This helps protect your natural teeth and your implants, too.
• Quit all tobacco/nicotine use – Tobacco and nicotine use are associated with a much higher chance of both short-term and long-term implant failure. If you smoke, vape, chew tobacco, use ZYNs, or use any other similar product, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your oral health and your overall health, too.
• Never skip follow-ups or checkups – Once your implant site heals, make sure you come in for your scheduled follow-ups so that your dentist at Lakeshore Dental Specialists can keep an eye on your recovery and begin crafting your implant restoration. And once you’ve got your new teeth, make sure you come in every six months for a routine teeth cleaning and oral exam!
  
  
• Don’t use teeth as tools or chew non-food objects – Using your teeth to do things like rip tape and open packages can damage them, and this is true of dental implants, too. You should also avoid chewing and biting non-food objects like pens, pencils, and fingernails.
  
  
• Get help with teeth grinding – Teeth grinding can damage your implant restoration or even the implant itself, in some cases. If you grind your teeth, a custom-fitted nightguard from the team at Lakeshore Dental Specialists can help cushion and protect both your implants and your natural teeth at night.

Learn More About Dental Implants At Lakeshore Dental Specialists

If you’re interested in dental implants in Eastpointe, MI, Dr. Whitney Weiner and the team at Lakeshore Dental Specialists are here to help. Whether you need to replace just one tooth or you’re considering full-mouth reconstruction, our implant dentists are here to help you learn everything you need to know about your options. 

As dental implant specialists, we offer single-tooth implants, implant-supported bridges, and even full-arch replacement with All-On-4. And with transparent pricing and monthly financing options available through Sunbit, the smile you’ve always wanted may be closer than you think. 

Ready to get started? Just give us a call at (586) 238-3199 or contact us online to book your first consultation with one of our friendly, experienced implant specialists right away. 

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