Springfield Dental Implants: Most Important Things to Do After Surgery

As a patient, you should do everything in your power to ensure the success of a dental implant treatment, so following your dentist’s instructions for post-operative care is critical. Depending on your dentist, the dental implant process could be lengthy, costly, and uncomfortable—not to mention painful, so you wouldn’t want to experience complications or failure after all that.

The following are the most common post-operative instructions a patient must do after he or she finishes their treatment in Springfield for dental implants.

Mouth Rinsing
Immediately after the first 24 hours of surgery, it is highly recommended to rinse the mouth with warm water. Your dentist may also suggest that you add a half teaspoon of salt to it to kill bacteria. You’ll need to rinse your mouth four or five times a day, for three to four days. You can only resume brushing or flossing the surgical area after the sutures are removed or have disappeared.

Food Intake
For the first 12 hours after surgery, you can only consume liquids and very soft foods. After 12 hours, you may eat most foods, but it’s best to avoid nuts, popcorn, chips and other types of food with small seeds as they might reopen the wound. Keep in mind that good nutrition is important for optimum healing, so make sure to eat plenty of nutritious foods. Vitamin intake is also highly recommended.

Physical Activity
Keep physical activities to a minimum for at least 24 hours following surgery. If you can’t avoid smoking, smoke only enough to calm your nerves, then stop. Bear in mind, however, that smoking prolongs the healing process and increases the risk of complications and failures.

Bleeding
Bleeding and swelling is a normal occurrence after a dental implant. To control bleeding, place a moist teabag or gauze pad directly on the bleeding wound and bite on it for 30 minutes. To reduce swelling, place an ice pack over the side of the face where swelling occurs. If there is excessive bleeding or swelling, call your dentist.

Self control is critical to a successful recovery from dental implant surgery. If you follow the post-operative instructions listed above carefully, you can help minimize the risk of dental implant complications and failure. Consult with a dentist in Springfield, IL, such as those at Advanced Dental Care of Springfield, to see if you qualify for the procedure.  Contact us today at (217) 717-4551 or info@smilespringfield.com

Sources:
Placing Dental Implants, Colgate
Dental implant surgery, Mayo Clinic