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Enhance Your Dental Implant Success
Once you decide dental implants are right for you, you’re choosing a restorative solution that provides you with a lifetime of benefits. After Dr. Sayed has completed the dental implant process, many patients are unaware they can impact the success of their new smile. This is why we’ve put together a comprehensive post-operative guide to help ensure you properly care for your implants and maintain good oral health.
Initial AfterCare for an Easy Recovery
Immediately after your implant surgery, knowing what you can and can’t do is important to ensure an efficient recovery. Follow these tips within the first few days of your healing period so you don’t jeopardize the healing process.
- Avoid hard or sticky foods that can harm your surgical site. It’s best to follow a soft food or liquid diet — smoothies, yogurt, soup, mashed potatoes — within the first couple of days.
- Try not to spit or use a straw. This can pressure your implant and prevent the areas from healing properly.
- After eating, or two to three times a day, rinse your mouth with salt water to gently clean around the implant and reduce any inflammation. Remember to not spit it out and instead, allow the water to flow out of your mouth.
- Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol. These are both factors that can reduce blood flow and hinder the entire healing process.
Long-Term Care
After your initial recovery period, it’s crucial to keep up with good oral hygiene and use the right products to ensure a long-lasting implant. If you follow these simple tips, your new smile will continue to radiate beauty and confidence for years to come.
Maintain Good Oral Care
Taking care of your oral health provides you and your implant with great benefits. The health of your gums is a vital factor for the success of your implant. It’s important to know even though your implant itself won’t decay or become infected, the supporting tissue around it still can.
If you don’t brush and floss properly every day, your gums will begin to build up bacteria and form plaque and tartar. This will lead to an infection in your gums and around your implant, known as peri-implantitis.
Peri-implantitis weakens your gums and loosens your implant, eventually leading to implant failure. To avoid this, you must brush twice a day, floss at least once a day, use mouthwash, and attend biannual visits to our Birmingham or Canton office for cleaning and checkups. This is to ensure you’re completely removing any bacteria or food particles in your mouth.
Use the Right Dental Products
Some dental care products are beneficial for dental implants, but others can harm them. Luckily, your cleaning routine is the same as with your natural teeth. Some factors to consider when choosing your products include:
- Find a toothbrush with soft bristles that won’t irritate your gums or scratch your restoration.
- Use toothpaste that doesn’t contain any harsh ingredients such as those found in whitening or smoker toothpaste.
- Pick out a floss that’s made specifically for implants or one that’s nylon coated.
- Choose a mouthwash that doesn’t list alcohol as an ingredient because it can affect your healing and dry out your mouth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should swelling/bruising around the implant area be treated?
Will there be pain after the procedure?
What do I do if there are any complications with my dental implants?
How long is the recovery after the dental implant procedure?
How should swelling/bruising around the implant area be treated?
It’s normal to experience swelling and/or bruising around the implant site after the procedure. This usually subsides within a few days after the surgery. You can reduce the swelling with cold compresses — hold the ice pack on the cheek where the implant is for a maximum of ten minutes at a time with a break for twenty minutes.
However, gentle heat is more beneficial after the first 24 hours have elapsed. It also helps to sleep slightly on two to three pillows underneath your head.
Will there be pain after the procedure?
Pain shouldn’t be too much of a problem for patients after their implant procedure. Although you may be sore for a few days after surgery, this can be managed with over-the-counter medications. You can take whichever painkillers you normally do for headaches, body aches, and sprains (ibuprofen and paracetamol make a good combination), and you should take your first dose before the local anesthetic has completely worn off.
If you experience increasing pain and swelling after a few days, contact our office immediately. This way we can get you in for an appointment as soon as possible so that we can ensure you’re not beginning to develop an infection.
What do I do if there are any complications with my dental implants?
Complications are rare as dental implants have a success rate of 98 percent. However, contact our office immediately if you’re feeling severe pain or discomfort. Don’t attempt to fix it yourself as it can result in permanent damage and delay your recovery. Dr. Sayed will evaluate your dental implants and provide you with the care you need.
How long is the recovery after the dental implant procedure?
Most patients require around six to nine months to heal after their implant placement procedure. During this time, your mouth will go through the osseointegration process where your gum tissues will fuse with your implant to form a sturdy foundation.
These are the several factors that can influence your recovery period:
- Oral health condition
- Aftercare
- Supplemental procedures
- Number of implants received
- Health condition
- Tobacco usage
Stay Consistent With Your Check-Ups
Make sure you keep up with your regular professional cleanings and exams with Dr. Sayed so he can ensure everything is going well with your implants. If he finds any unexpected issues, he’ll be able to treat them right away to avoid complications in the future.
If you have any other questions throughout your healing process, be sure to contact our office right away to ensure a successful recovery. Our Birmingham dental practice is conveniently located near Pontiac, Highland Park, and many more surrounding areas, and our Canton office is located near Ann Arbor, and Dearborn, MI.
Why Wait? Contact us today for information on your Dental Implant Consultation
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