Recovery From Dental Implant Surgery

Dental implants are designed as a means to fill in gaps where you have lost one or more teeth. With a dental implant you are fitted with an artificial root and a crown is attached to resemble a natural tooth. Dental implants cost quite a lot of money, and many dentists offer different payment options to help. Depending on your specific situation, you may be fitted with a root form dental implant, a subperiosteal dental implant or a plate dental implant. The extent of your recovery will depend on whether any bone grafting has taken place as part of the dental implant surgery, but you can count on an overall recovery time of up to a few months in most cases.

Basically, what you are waiting for during your recovery from dental implants is for a secure base to be created where the root part of the implant has been implanted into your jaw bone. This process takes time to work properly and it's common for patients to become impatient as they wait. The crown, or tooth part of the implant can't be screwed in or attached until your jaw has healed properly. The whole dental implant could end up not working if you try to place the tooth in before the rest has healed. Obviously, this would increase the dental implant cost even more.

Even though getting dental implants is a surgery, you are usually able to return home after resting for a little while and being free of any complications. It's important to have a ride home after the dental implant procedure, as you will likely be too groggy to drive. Your dentist will prescribe you pain medication and possibly an antibiotic, if he deems it necessary. It's important that you take any medication exactly as prescribed. Once the freezing wears off from your dental implant surgery, you may experience a significant amount of discomfort. Monitor how you feel after taking your pain medication, and take it at home for the first few times in case it makes you groggy. You'll want to stay away from driving if you aren't clear headed.

It's a good idea to prop your head up with an extra pillow for the first couple nights after receiving dental implants to keep the swelling down. If you feel it helps, you can continue to use more than one pillow even after the first two nights. To help with bleeding, fold squares of gauze in fours and position them on the areas that are bleeding and bite down. Try to keep the pressure on for 20 minutes. You can probably expect some degree of bleeding for up to 48 hours after the dental implant procedure has ended.

Some other important factors in your recovery include hygiene and nutrition. Drink a lot of fluids on the day of your dental implant surgery, and eat light foods like Jello for the first few days. Keep your mouth clean to avoid infection and brush your teeth as normal, except for the area of the dental implants. You can resume brushing the surgery site in the 7 to 10 day range. You can use an ice pack on your face to reduce swelling when necessary, as it may last for up to 10 days. Smoking is highly discouraged after dental implant surgery, and you can typically resume light physical activity within 3 days.

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