While dental implant surgery can be intimidating for some people, it is perfectly appropriate; And the recovery time is usually not that long, which makes it a worthwhile investment. In terms of complications or transplants, the recovery time may vary depending on the individual and the specific surgery. Still, it usually takes a week to see a significant improvement in symptoms. Let’s take a look at what to expect after coming home from surgery and what you can do to eliminate any pain and swelling.
Getting a dental implant will have a shorter recovery time than full implant surgery, so it plays a big role in determining how long it takes to recover. For example, an all-on-4 implant will take longer than an implant, so this should be considered.
1: Use ice and heat
Ice is a wonderful painkiller, especially if you find yourself feeling swollen. This helps reduce inflammation, as well as preventing local nerves from sending pain signals. Heat can also be used but should be used with caution and only if there is no risk of infection, as it drains blood from the surgical site and over the cheeks, which can spread the infection. Infection is unlikely, but care must be taken when using heat.
2: Brush lightly
This is an important aspect of maintaining a good healing process, so when you brush your teeth, make sure you brush lightly and be very careful around newly implanted teeth. Buying a toothbrush with a soft bristle can be helpful, so the risk of damage to healing tissues is reduced.
3: Rinse with saltwater
Clean your mouth with warm water and salt few times a day, it can help with the pain, but its main goal is to reduce any risk of infection or inflammation due to fluid build-up. It will also help clean the areas inside the mouth that may be painful to clean or brush with during treatment.
4: Avoid hard and acidic foods
You need to avoid hard and acidic foods as you recover from dental implant surgery, as cutting into hard material can damage newly implanted teeth and surrounding tissues. Acidic foods can also irritate the tissues around newly implanted teeth, causing both pain and swelling. It is best to avoid them now. This gives you the perfect opportunity to go shopping for groceries to pick up soft foods of your choice, which can be anything like potatoes, yoghurt, oatmeal, bananas or beans.
5: Use an antiseptic mouthwash
Especially if you use an antiseptic mouthwash containing menthol, it will help to clear the mouth of bacteria and create a cooling effect due to the menthol content of the mouthwash. This can be very helpful, especially during the first week of recovery when the inflammation is greatest.
Recovery from dental process
Recovery time is usually shorter than most people think. Most of the main symptoms of surgery usually clear up within the first week, but sometimes recovery may take longer depending on how many teeth you had.
Generally, once you leave the dentist, you may experience mild bleeding around the implant site; This is perfectly normal and should get better within a few hours of the surgery being completed. You may also experience swelling and pain associated with drainage, which should get better after 2-3 days.
Once you reach the third day, most bruises should go away, and the pain should be significantly reduced. You may also experience numbness in the jaw muscles, pain in the tongue and throat and dryness which will decrease significantly in 7 days.
