General

After your procedure try not to disturb the wound. Avoid rinsing, spitting, or touching the wound on the day of surgery. You may begin rinsing the area gently the first day after. In some cases there will be a metal healing abutment protruding through the gingival (gum) tissue.  This is normal for such a procedure but we ask that you try not to disturb it.

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Bleeding

Some bleeding or redness in the saliva is normal for 24 hours. Excessive bleeding (mouth fills up rapidly with blood) can be controlled by biting on a gauze pad placed directly on the bleeding wound for 30 minutes. Repeat as needed. If bleeding continues for several hours please notify our office .

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Swelling

Swelling is a normal occurrence after surgery. To minimize swelling, apply an ice pack to the area of surgery. Apply it continuously, as much as possible, for the first 36 hours.

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Diet

We recommend a soft diet for the first week after your procedure. This includes but is not limited to soups, juices, yogurt, pasta, noodles, smoothies.

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Pain

You should begin taking pain medication as soon as you feel the local anesthetic wearing off. For moderate pain, Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin) may be taken instead of your pain prescription. For most postoperative pain, the prescribed medication should be taken as directed.

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Antibiotics

Be sure to take the prescribed antibiotics as directed to help prevent infection.

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Oral Hygiene

Good oral hygiene is essential to good healing. The night of surgery, use the prescribed oral rinse before bed. The day after surgery, the oral rinse should be used twice daily, after breakfast and before bed. Be sure to rinse for at least 30 seconds then spit it out. Warm salt water rinses (teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) should be used at least 3-4 times a day, as well, especially after meals. Brushing your teeth and the healing abutments is no problem. Be gentle initially with brushing the surgical areas. *Please do not use an electric tooth brush during the implant healing period.

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Activity

We recommend resting for the first 24-48hrs depending on the degree of treatment. However in some cases the patient my resume normal activity the following day.  No strenuous activity is recommend for the first week. 

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Wearing your Prosthesis

Partial dentures, flippers, or full dentures can be used immediately after surgery but varies with each individual case. This will be discussed in the pre-operative consultation. If there are any questions please call us.