Post-Op Home Care

Before your implant surgery, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely. Beginning the day before your surgery, an antibiotic will be given to you. Continue this antibiotic for the indicated length of time following your surgery. An oral antibiotic rinse will be given to you before and after the surgery. Please follow the instructions for the time length.

After surgery, you will be instructed to bite firmly and gently on a moist gauze pad to help stop the bleeding. You will be given several gauze pads to take home and should change the pad as necessary until the bleeding stops completely. If bleeding does not stop or increases, please call us. You will experience some discomfort following your surgery. If need be, we can prescribe a mild pain reliever.  Also, applying an ice pack, 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, for the first six hours after surgery will help relieve pain and swelling. Use the ice pack for no more than 72 hours, then apply moist heat.

For the 24-28 hours following surgery, keep your head elevated and avoid all strenuous activities for at least two days to help minimize swelling and bleeding. Drink at least 8 glasses of water or fruit juice each day and eat only soft foods such as yogurt, soup, pudding, and soft-cooked eggs for at least the first week following surgery.

Carefully rinse your mouth, three or four times a day, with a warm saltwater solution for the week following the surgery (one teaspoon salt in one cup warm water). Leave out dentures or partial dentures that cover the implant site for at least one week following surgery. A soft reline can be created after the healing is done so you can wear your dentures comfortably.

You may experience some soreness as the jawbone grows over the titanium post for several weeks following your surgery. An over-the-counter pain reliever (ibuprofen) will ease the pain.

You will experience some swelling for 24 hours after the extraction. Expect one to two weeks of recovery time.  Before your extraction, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely.

An over-the-counter pain reliever, such as ibuprofen, will ease your discomfort. If this does not help, call for a prescription. An ice pack, on for 20 minutes and off for 20 minutes, for the first six hours after the extraction will also help relieve discomfort and swelling.

A blood clot will form at the site of the extraction, which is vital to the healing process. Do not touch the clot with your tongue or fingers, drink liquids through a straw, spit vigorously, or smoke. Whereas the blood clot may become dislodge and slow the healing process. Also, sneezing or blowing your nose could dislodge the clot.

Do not rinse your mouth the day of the extraction. After 24 hours you may rinse gently with mouthwash or salt and warm water mixture. Be sure to spit carefully. Rinse 2-3 times a day for a week after the extraction. Take the prescribed antibiotics for the indicated length of time.

Avoid strenuous activities for at least 24 hours after your surgery. Drink at least eight glasses of water or fruit juice each day and eat only soft foods such as yogurt, soup, pudding, and soft-cooked eggs for at least 48 hours following surgery.

Gauze pads will be given to you to place on the site of the extraction to help control the bleeding. Change as necessary until the bleeding stops completely. Keeping your head elevated with pillows while also help control the bleeding. Continue to brush and floss your other teeth as normal.

The site of the extraction will feel strange for a while. New bone and gum tissue will grow in and cover the gap left by the extraction.

Before your surgery, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely.  While your custom restoration is being created, a temporary filling or crown will be placed on the tooth that received the root canal.  It is normal for a small piece to chip off the temporary. To ensure the temporary stays in place follow these steps:

• Do not chew gum or eat sticky foods.
• Chew on the opposite side of your mouth.
• Brush normally and floss carefully, pulling the floss from the side and not the top next to the temporary.

After having a root canal, you will experience some discomfort and sensitivity. If antibiotics are prescribed, take them for the entire period of time indicated. A mild over-the-counter pain reliever will help ease any discomfort. Rinsing three times a day with warm salt water will also help ease discomfort. After your permanent crown or filling has been fitted, it should look and feel natural. Brush and floss as normal.

If you notice any of the following, please call the office:

• Uneven bite Tooth feels tight
• Difficult to floss around
• Persistent pain

Before your surgery, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely. To ease pain and swelling, apply an ice pack 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, for six hours following your surgery. Do not touch the area of your gums affected by the surgery with your tongue or fingers.

Do not rinse your mouth the day of the surgery. Twenty-four (24) hours after your surgery, you may gently rinse your mouth with mouthwash or warm salt water, spitting carefully, three times a day.   You may experience some discomfort after the surgery, which will be eased by taking mild pain medication. If antibiotics are prescribed, take them for the entire length of time. Refrain from all strenuous activities for at least 24 hours following surgery. For 48 hours following surgery, when the numbness has worn off, eat only soft food such as yogurt, soup, ice cream, and soft-cooked eggs. Drink eight glasses of water or fruit juices a day.

To control bleeding, elevate your head with pillows. Gauze pads will be given to place over the site of the surgery to control bleeding. Change as often as needed. If bleeding persists or increases, call the office. Continue normal cleaning routine in other areas of the mouth at least twice a day.

Dry Socket only occurs in about five percent of tooth extractions. When the blood clot does not form or comes loose following an extraction, an infection can occur. The blood clot is the foundation for new bone tissue to grow after the extraction. If the clot does not form or is damaged, it is considered a dry socket.  It may take 3-5 days for symptoms of the infection to occur after an extraction. Symptoms will include constant, severe pain and what feels like an earache. You will also experience a bad taste in your mouth and bad breath.

To avoid losing your blood clot there are several preventive measures you can take: Refrain from smoking, sucking through a straw, forceful spitting, coughing, and sneezing. You should also avoid carbonated and alcoholic beverages. Keep fingers and tongue away from the extraction site. To ease pain and swelling, apply an ice pack to your jaw, 15-20 minutes on and 30-40 minutes off, for the first 24 hours following your surgery. Do not rinse your mouth the day of the surgery. Beginning the next day, gently rinse with mouthwash or warm saltwater.

If you notice any symptoms of dry socket, call the office immediately. It will be treated by rinsing it and packing it with sterile gauze and topical anesthetic dressing. This will need to be changed, by the dentist, several times over two weeks.

Before your procedure, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely. It is normal to experience sore gums, pressure, and sensitivity to heat and cold after receiving your filling. To ease pain and swelling, rinse your mouth with warm saltwater.

If the discomfort lasts longer than one week, call the office. For 24 hours following receiving your filling, do not eat hard foods or chew foods on the tooth that was filled and use the opposite side of your mouth for eating.

Before your procedure, you will receive an anesthetic. This will leave your mouth numb for several hours after your surgery. Do not eat or drink until the numbness wears off completely.

It is normal to experience sore gums, pressure, and sensitivity to heat and cold after receiving your filling. To ease pain and swelling, rinse your mouth with warm saltwater. If the discomfort lasts longer than one week, call the office. Since white filling sets immediately, after the numbness wears off, you may chew normally.

While a custom restoration is being created, you will be fitted with a temporary crown or bridge to protect your teeth and gums. This will prevent the surrounding teeth from shifting and changing the fit of the custom restoration.

You will need to slightly alter your normal eating and oral hygiene habits to ensure that your temporary stays in place:

• Do not chew gum or eat sticky foods
• Chew on the opposite side of your mouth
• Carefully brush and floss each day, but pull the floss from the side and not the top next to the temporary to prevent it from coming loose.

If you notice any of the following, call the office immediately:

• If the temporary comes loose
• Your bite feels uneven
• You experience constant pain

It will take some time to adjust to your new bite. Here are some steps to take. It will take several days for you to adjust to the new position of your teeth. If you notice any high spots, call the office. For several days following your procedure, you will be sensitive to hot, cold, and pressure. If this does not subside after several days, call the office.

You may experience some soreness and swelling in your gums for several days. Rinsing with warm salt water will help ease the pain and swelling. A mild over-the-counter pain reliever will also help with the pain.

While you adjust to your new bite, your speech will be affected slightly and you will notice an increase in the flow of salvia. This will not last more than a week. A custom mouthguard can be created to protect your new smile during sports. As with natural teeth, your new teeth will crack or chip if you eat hard foods or chew on hard substances.

To ensure that your new teeth will last try to avoid or minimize the following: use of tobacco, red wine, colas, coffee, and tea and chewing on ice, pencils, fingernails, or hard candy