At Advanced Dentistry of Butler, we get a lot of questions about what the dental implants procedure looks like and what to expect following the surgery. Dr. Fornalczyk will tell you if you’re a good candidate for dental implants and provide you with an overview of the procedure. To help answer some of your questions and help you decide if dental implants in Butler, PA are right for you, we’ve compiled a list of what to expect.
What to Expect Following Implant Surgery
Directly following your dental implant surgery, you likely won’t feel anything because your mouth is still numb from the local anesthetic. However, it’s common to experience some pain, swelling, or bruising. We recommend icing your face to reduce the swelling. During the first few days, ice your face for ten minutes at a time with 20 minute breaks in-between. It might also help to avoid sleeping on your side and sleep on your back instead. You can manage any pain you experience with over the counter pain relievers.
Eating After Dental Implant Surgery
Although you might feel hungry directly after your dental implant surgery, we don’t recommend eating anything until the local anesthetic wears off. It’s important to be able to feel pain or pressure so you don’t irritate the implant site. Avoid hot foods and drinks and start by eating only soft foods or drinking smoothies. You will be able to eat crunchier foods after your incisions heal. Once you begin eating more solid foods, try to avoid chewing in the area of the implants to prevent food from getting stuck. You should rinse your mouth after every meal to prevent food from accumulating in the implant sites.
How to Care for Your Mouth Following Implant Surgery
It’s important to keep your mouth as clean as possible after your implant surgery to ensure nothing gets infected and that you heal properly. Right after surgery, try to avoid brushing in the area of your new implants. If you have remaining teeth in your mouth, continue brushing those and staying gentle near the implant sites. You can start brushing the surgical site a few days after surgery. We also recommend rinsing your mouth with saltwater to help avoid infection.
Things to Avoid After Implants Surgery
We highly encourage our patients to not smoke following dental implants surgery. Smoking can cause your implants to fail and limit your mouth’s healing time. We also discourage our patients from strenuous exercise for the first 48 hours. Aside from these things to avoid, caring for your implants after surgery is simple.
Get Dental Implants in Butler, PA
If you’re ready to take the plunge and upgrade your missing teeth with dental implants and experience their many benefits, Advanced Dentistry of Butler can help. Contact our Butler dental office for a dental implants consultation by calling (724) 282-4436.
