Dental Implant Aftercare

How to look after Dental Implants

It’s easy to neglect proper care of your implants. However you should take as much care of your implants as with your actual teeth. Otherwise you could end up with more health problems and suffer more discomfort. Care of your implants begins as soon as you have the surgery for them, and by following this aftercare guide you will be on your way to healthy implants.

Immediately after your treatment is when your new implant and surrounding mouth is most at risk of damage. Take care not to disturb the area of treatment with food, drink or your tongue. It is normal to have swelling or bruising after your treatment. This will subside after a few days, but you can help reduce the swelling with ice packs wrapped in a towel.

It is likely you may be sore for a few days after any surgery. This can be managed with pain killers after the local anaesthetic has worn off. It is important that you return to your local practice if you are still experiencing pain and swelling after a few days. Some minor bleeding after treatment is normal. If this continues, you should contact your local Midlands Smile Centres practice.

How successful your implant is depends on how clean you keep your mouth. Whilst avoiding the treatment area, you should continue brushing your teeth each day. After a few days, you should attempt to clean the treatment area. You should attempt to keep food away from the treatment area as much as possible. Following every meal, you should rinse to keep the area clean.

 A beneficial healing method is using hot salt mouthwashes (hot water with a teaspoon of salt). Take care that the water is not too hot. It is good to repeat this as often as possible. Smoking is highly unadvised, as this can severely limit how quickly you heal after your surgery.

It is important to manage your diet after your treatment. You should drink plenty of fluids to aid in the healing process. It is recommended you drink 5-6 eight ounce glasses during the first day after your treatment. You should not use a straw when drinking. The sucking motion could cause the area to start bleeding again.

After your treatment, you should try to avoid hot liquids or food whilst under the effect of anaesthetic, as you could accidentally burn yourself. You should limit yourself to soft foods for a day after your surgery. However, you should return to your normal diet as soon as possible. It may be a struggle, but if you eat, your healing period will be faster and you won’t suffer as much from discomfort.

If you have any further questions about proper aftercare of your implants, please talk to one of our implant specialists. Alternatively, you can submit your question through the Dental Implant page on the Midlands Smile Centres website.

Dental Implants in Birmingham is a one of the many dental services offered by Midlands Smile Centres.