Dental Implant Surgery

To ensure your comfort, and speed the healing process of your oral tissues: before, during and after implant surgery, please take the time to carefully read the following instructions and diligently carry them out.

Comfort: To alleviate discomfort, take 2-3 analgesic tablets such as Advil, Tylenol, etc., and repeat every four hours as needed. For stronger pain relief, take the prescription medication as directed. Do not rinse or brush your teeth today, as this will cause bleeding.

Swelling: Swelling is not unusual and generally subsides within 5-8 days. Keep your head elevated for 24 hours following surgery. To minimize swelling, apply an ice pack to the outside surface of your face for 10 minutes where the surgery was performed. Repeat this application every 20 minutes (10 min. on – 20 min. off) for the next 6-8 hours. Application of ice packs after these periods is not beneficial.

Bleeding: There may be occasional blood stains in your saliva during the week after surgery. If there is considerable bleeding beyond this, take a piece of gauze, form it into a “U” shape, apply it to both sides of the bleeding area, and hold it under gentle pressure. If bleeding persists after two 20 minute applications of gauze, please contact this office. Do not rinse or brush your teeth today, as this will cause bleeding.

Sinus Precautions: Keep your head elevated when resting. Try not to sneeze, but if you cannot help it, try to sneeze with your mouth open. Do not blow your nose.

Oral Hygiene: Do not use a toothbrush for 24 hours. Following that, you may gently brush your teeth and rinse your mouth. Avoid brushing the surgical areas adjacent to the packing and/or sutures. To keep your mouth fresh, brush the surface of your tongue and gently rinse with diluted mouthwash, or use an antimicrobial mouthwash such as Perioguard or Peridex (if prescribed.) Smoking is discouraged, since it delays the healing of tissue after surgery.

Use peroxide on cotton tip to keep plaque off area.

Do not wear your dentures or partial dentures until instructed to do so.

The graft should heal for approximately 3-6 months. After the graft has healed a second procedure will be done to insert the implant(s) into the jaw. It is expected that the implant(s) will become stable and firm within the bone and act as an anchor(s) for the prosthesis (crown). This may take an additional 8-12 weeks.

Notify us immediately for: • Repeated vomiting ▪ pain not relieved by pain medications ▪ uncontrolled bleeding ▪ fever of 101◦F or higher.

Activity: Following surgery you should avoid exertion of any type for 5 days. Types of activities which should be avoided for 5 days are: exercising, lifting and playing sports. Sun bathing should also be avoided. If surgery was extensive, excessive talking should also be avoided for a couple of days.

Post-Operative Instructions for Implant Procedure

• Smokers do not heel as well as non-smokers. If you smoke, it is best to quit before surgery. Otherwise, plan to avoid smoking for at least the first two weeks afterward.

• Plan to be quietly at home the remainder of the day of surgery, and take it easy for the next two days. Do not plan physically strenuous activities for the next 72 hours.

• If you have questions about the planned treatment, please call us.