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What To Know About Recovering After Dental Implant Surgery

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Are you set to get dental implants in the near future, but you are not sure what to expect during the recovery process? It will help to know the following things so that you are well prepared for the days that follow the procedure.

Pain

The pain after your dental implant surgery will depend on what procedure you need done that day, as well as how many dental implants you get. For example, you may need to have teeth extracted, a bone graft procedure, and potentially up to 8 implants for all all-on-four style dental implants for your upper and lower teeth.

Bleeding

Bleeding is completely normal for the first day after a dental procedure. However, know that it can appear like you're bleeding more than you really are when your blood mixes with your saliva. It's not something to be overly concerned about, since it is completely normal. Just put a towel over your pillow when you go to sleep to make sure that you do not get any blood on it.

Swelling

Some degree of swelling is normal after your dental implant surgery. Swelling may look like it is not going down for the first few days after the procedure, but it should start to decrease after about a week. Contact your dentist if the swelling doesn't go down or gets worse over the first week. Swelling can be treated with an ice pack to help move the blood away from the area.

Sutures 

You should try to avoid touching the sutures that are in your gums, since touching them with your fingers or tongue can delay the overall healing process. If you have dissolving sutures placed in your gums, they will naturally go away over the next few weeks. If the sutures are not the type that dissolve, you'll be given instructions about when to return to the dentist to have them removed. 

Rinsing

It will be advised that you do not rinse out your mouth immediately after the surgery like how you are used to doing in the past. The dentist will want your gums to heal as best as they can, and the motion from rinsing and spitting can disrupt the surgical site over the first few days. To rinse out your mouth, you'll want to gently move water around by moving your head from side-to-side, then gently let the water fall out of your mouth and into the sink. 

A clinic like Total Freedom Dental Implant Center can help you with more information.


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