What To Expect After Dental Implant Surgery?
What To Expect After Dental Implant Surgery?
Now that you have been cleared for a dental implant, you are now a step closer to getting your smile and confidence back. However, you aren’t really sure what exactly will happen next. To make the process smoother, it is important to know what to expect after dental implant surgery.
What to Know Before your Dental Implant Surgery?
The first thing you have to understand is that dental implants are not a one-time surgery. It involves various sessions that may require anywhere from a few weeks to 6 months to complete, depending on your specific needs.
In order to be very successful in the procedure, your oral surgeon or dentist needs months to complete it. The process is quite lengthy because your jawbone and mouth must be ready to withstand the implants for a long period of time. In fact, your dentist will require you to have sufficient bone density in your jawbone before they move forward with the operation.
How Can You Prepare for the Surgery?
Every step of the process is important to make the procedure a real success. The way you treat your oral health prior to the surgery is as important as any other step. Before the procedure, you might be asked to begin using a special antibacterial mouthwash. You also need to eat a nutritious breakfast on the day of the surgery. However, if you’re receiving a sedative for the surgery, your oral surgeon or dentist might ask you not to eat food on the evening prior to the surgery.
Implanting the Tooth
You need to keep in mind that any surgical procedure always comes with some degree of inconvenience. However, your dentist or oral surgeon will use a sedative or a local anesthesia to make sure that you do not feel paring the operation.
The surgeon will make some small incisions in the mouth to create small flaps, exposing the bone that need to fuse implants in place. With the use of a drill, he will create a room needed to implant the new tooth. There will be metal base fixed in place firmly for the jawbone to grow and fuse with the metal post naturally.
Your gums will require a few weeks to completely heal and strengthen before the crown is added. When your gums are healed, your surgeon may take teeth impressions to ensure that your implants fit naturally and securely. The last step is fixing the natural-looking tooth crown onto the abutment.
After the Surgery
As mentioned, chances are, you will experience some degree of comfort after the surgery. Some common symptoms may include:
- Slight bleeding
- Swelling of face and gum
- Pain from the implant site
- Minor bruising
Your dentist may prescribe a pain medication to help you relieve discomfort. If the pain gets worse, make sure to contact your dentist as soon as possible.
You need to be diligent with your aftercare. Failing to do so can lead to some issues like possible bone loss surrounding the surgical area, the gums surrounding the implant site may be infected and your body might reject the implants altogether. Being aware of things that may happen before, during and after dental implant surgery is very important.
