Dental implant aftercare | Whitehall dental practice

Advice Following Dental Implants

These instructions only apply if you have been given intravenous sedation.

The patient must be accompanied home and supervised by a responsible adult for at least two hours following surgery.
Rest is recommended for the remainder of the day. Normal activities may be resumed the following day as tolerated.

Restrictions

These instructions only apply if you have been given intravenous sedation or general anaesthesia.

No alcohol consumption or driving for 24 hours.
Do not wear contact lenses for 24 hours following surgery.
No breast-feeding for 12 hours after sedation.
All surgical patients should not smoke, rinse or spit for 24 hours.

Bleeding

Gauze should be placed over the surgical site and pressure applied by biting down.
To prepare the gauze, moisten it with tap water, roll it up, fold it over, and place over the surgical site. Keep gauze packs in place for three to four hours or until bleeding subsides, changing at one-hour intervals as needed.
Minimal bleeding is expected.
If bleeding has not decreased in two to three hours following these instructions, bite on a dampened tea bag placed directly over the surgical site. The tannic acid in the tea helps blood clot.
If you have any concerns about your bleeding please consult our office.

Swelling

Apply ice to jaws for 20 minutes on/20 minutes off, for four to six hours. Ice packs or frozen peas are ideal. Replace ice in the bag as needed, wrapping a towel or cloth around it.
Maximum swelling is expected within 36-48 hours and may last for several days.
Ice after 24 hours is not beneficial.
If the swelling is significant you may use moist heat compresses to help reduce it. The less swelling, the less pain.

Medications

Post-operative pain will be the most severe the first day after surgery.

Take prescribed medications as directed or use paracetomol, ibuprofen, or aspirin for mild to moderate discomfort.
It is beneficial to take your pain medication before your numbness wears off.
Do not take pain medication with an empty stomach or you may become nauseated.
Pain medication should be taken with food or milk products.
Do not consume alcohol or drive when taking prescribed pain medication.
Take your antibiotics as directed and until finished.

Diet

Follow an adequate diet to heal as quickly as possible. Patients who have been sedated are advised to begin with clear liquids, then progress to full liquids (milk products such as milkshakes or creamed soups) until the feeling returns, then advance to a soft to normal diet as tolerated.
Be aware that at first hot temperatures are not felt due to numbness.
Do not drink from straws for 24 hours.

Oral Hygiene

Do not rinse or spit for 24 hours after surgery.
The day following surgery brush your teeth and rinse with warm salt water (1/2 teaspoonful of salt dissolved in a glass of water) after each meal and as needed.
Dissolvable sutures may loosen with brushing and minimal bleeding may occur.

Sinus Precautions

If the sinus is entered during surgery, please follow the instructions below:

No nose blowing for one week.
- Do not blow a wind instrument for one week.

Special Considerations

Trismus (stiffness) of the muscles may cause difficulty in opening your mouth for a period of days. Anti-inflammatory medications and moist heat compresses to the jaw(s) can minimize this condition.
There may be a slight elevation of temperature for 24 - 48 hours. If the fever persists, please contact our office.
Sutures used during surgery usually dissolve in 7 -10 days.

Next steps

Do you have an urgent question related to dental implants?

Please contact our practice as soon as possible.

Portman Dental Care Awards

Regrettably, our NHS services ended on 31st October 2023. We explored all available options to carry on providing NHS services, but unfortunately these were exhausted, and we had no alternative but to hand back our contract and stop providing NHS services as of 31st October 2023. If you would like to find a new practice that accepts NHS patients, you can use the NHS find a dentist service.

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Post-Operative Instructions Following Dental Implants