1. Community
  2. Ears, nose, throat and mouth
  3. Oral and Dental Problems

DENTAL CARE AFTER AN IMPLANT TREATMENT

Posted , 3 users are following.

dimplant
dimplant

DENTAL IMPLANTS: AFTERCARE TIPS

The following information provides some useful tips to help aid the healing process of teeth implants.

IF LOCAL ANESTHESIA WAS USED

Usually the anesthesia usually lasts 3 to 4 hours. To avoid injury to the tongue, cheeks or lips, avoid chewing until the numbness goes away. It is also advisable to avoid hot drinks and / or foods until the effects disappear completely.

FIRST AND SECOND WEEK OF TREATMENT

At eating time: Avoid any excessive pressure on dental implants. You should only eat soft, nutritious foods for a period of 2-4 weeks. Avoid sticky or hard foods and also maintain a high protein diet.

Medications: Take antibiotics and pain relief pills as prescribed. Do not stop taking antibiotics, according to the time prescribed by the doctor. If you have any side effects caused by the medication, call your dentist. Take painkillers, only if necessary.

Hygiene: Avoid brushing the area with surgical bandage around the implant; rinse your mouth with a good mouthwash at least 2 times a day. That will help keep the implant area always clean.

Physical activity: Avoid physical activities and heavy lifting. This may cause bleeding around dental implants.

If you drink alcohol: Avoid it for 2 weeks until the tissues surrounding the implants heal correctly.

If you smoke: Avoid smoking for at least 3 days before surgery and for 2 weeks after treatment, otherwise the healing process will be slower than normal. In addition, the substances contained in cigarettes can cause other negative reactions.

Food and Drinks: Avoid foods or hot drinks, spicy or acidic. Do not eat crunchy or hard food, because this will put more pressure on the dental implant. A surgical dressing is placed around the area of dental implants. This curettage should remain in place for two weeks and do not use a toothpick or touch the dental implant area with your tongue.

Ice pack: An ice pack should be applied externally on the dental implant site, as much as possible during the first 3 days. This will help reduce inflammation.

Dentures: If you wear dentures, this will loosen a bit to not apply pressure to the dental implant. The denture is placed with a protective dressing and should not be removed for two weeks.

THIRD WEEK

Lightly brush the dental implant site after you have removed the surgical bandage. (Usually two weeks after surgery). Apply some mouthwash to your toothbrush and brush gently around the treated areas.

FOURTH WEEK

Resume normal cleaning of the area around the dental implant.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • jerryD
    jerryD dimplant

    Posted

    You should have take care of your mouth for atleast 2 weeks. You've to have soft food for first 24 hours after surgery.
  • LittleGreyCat
    LittleGreyCat dimplant

    Posted

    Some interesting information, but various things are not clear.

    As I understand it (I'm contemplating a dental implant at the moment) there are three stages.

    (1) The tooth (or root) is removed.

    (2) The titanium screw is inserted into the jaw bone.

    (3) Once the bone has bonded sufficiently to the screw a crown is fitted.

    This article doesn't really say which of the last two stages it refers to.

    I assume that it refers to (2) when the titanium screw is inserted.

    So:

    " A surgical dressing is placed around the area of dental implants. This curettage should remain in place for two weeks and do not use a toothpick or touch the dental implant area with your tongue."

    Well, in my case it is the top two front teeth (previously crowned) which need replacing with implants. I am struggling to work out how I can avoid touching the back of my front teeth with my tongue for two weeks.

    "Lightly brush the dental implant site after you have removed the surgical bandage. (Usually two weeks after surgery)"

    How easy is it to remove the bandage, and conversley how difficult is it to retain the bandage for two weeks?

    "Physical activity: Avoid physical activities and heavy lifting. This may cause bleeding around dental implants."

    For how long? Hours, days, weeks?

    Also, what constitutes a "physical activity"?

    Walking, cycling, running, sports, shopping?

    Finally (for the moment) my first consultation included a price for the provision of a denture for the period between the implant and the fixing of the crowns. This may just be because it is front teeth and so very visible, At over £400 for three months this comes to around £150 a month for a short term throw away item.

    Given that I am frightening people already with the gap where my two front teeth were (no real point in re-fixing the crowns) I am contemplating not bothering with the denture. Has anyone else had their top front teeth done recently? If so, did you have a denture made?

    In fact, for those who have had implants, how did you chose your dental surgeon? Implants are not available on the NHS so this is a straight commercial purchase via private medicine. How many quotes did you get? How did you chose which surgeon to go with? Did you consider dental hospitals as well as dental practices?

    Cheers

    LGC

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.