After Care Instructions
Implants
A part of making the dental implant surgery successful is to follow your doctor’s orders during the post-operative care. After your dental implants have been inserted you will be given antibiotics as well as antibiotic oral rinse – you need to follow all the specific instructions on how to use both the anesthetic and the oral rinse.
Following surgery, you will be asked to bite firmly but gently on a gauze pad to stop the bleeding. Your doctor will give you a package of gauze to take home with you and place over the surgical site. You’ll have to make sure to change the pads and use them until the bleeding stops completely. Sometimes biting on a moist tea bag will be prescribed as well. You’ll need to phone you doctor if bleeding persists or increases.
If you have some discomfort after the surgery you will be given a painkiller. You can also decrease discomfort and swelling by applying an ice pack for about twenty minutes for the first six hours following surgery. You can continue applying an ice pack for as long as two days following surgery. After two days, apply moist heat to the area such as tea bag.
In order to minimize swelling and bleeding you may want to keep your head elevated for the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the surgery. You have to make sure you relax as much as possible and avoid all strenuous activities for as long as three days following the dental implants surgery.
You’ll have to drink plenty of fluids and try to limit your diet to soft foods, soup, and yogurt during the first week after surgery.
You will be asked to rinse your mouth with warm salt water solution-one teaspoon of salt in one cup of water-about three to four times a day to further disinfect the area. You have to make sure you spit carefully to avoid any complication.
Once your jaw bone grows around the post, you may experience a little discomfort around the area that can last for several weeks. An over-the-counter pain reliever, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, should make the pain go away.
If you’re having any problems or questions make sure you call your doctor’s office right away. If you follow all the post-operative instructions you shouldn’t have any complications but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.