After Placement of Dental Implants

The following guidelines are for you to read before and after you receive dental implant surgery. Reading these before your procedure will help you to best prepare for your recovery. Please adhere to these guidelines, so that you can have the best and fastest possible recovery. If at any time you have a question or concern, day or night, please contact our office.

First Day of Surgery Instructions

• You must stay awake for one hour following the surgery.
• Some bleeding after your dental implants is normal.  You may see blood or redness in the saliva for the next 24 hours. Excessive bleeding, where your mouth fills up with blood quickly, may be controlled by biting down on a gauze pad placed directly on the bleeding wound for 30 minutes. The gauze will help absorb blood and will help apply pressure to the wound.  If bleeding continues, please call our office for further help and instructions.
• If bleeding reoccurs later, continue using the gauze in the same fashion.  If bleeding continues, bite on a moistened tea bag for 30 minutes. The tannic acid in the tea bag helps to form a clot by contracting bleeding vessels.
• Do not eat or sleep with gauze in your mouth.
• Remain upright to prevent increased swelling. Sleep or rest with your head in an elevated position, such as in a recliner, or prop your head/upper body on several pillows.
• Limit your activities following the first 24 hours after surgery.
• Do not rinse, spit or touch the wound area. There will usually be a metal healing abutment protruding through the gingival (gum) tissue.
• Do not smoke or consume alcoholic beverages for seven (7) days after surgery. 

Diet

• Drink plenty of cool or room-temperature fluids. Avoid hot liquids or food.
• Eat a cool, soft diet, including foods such as yogurt, pudding, ice cream, and Jello for the first day. High calorie, high protein foods will help speed your recovery.  Drink at least 5 - 6 glasses of liquid each day. You will feel better, have more strength, less discomfort, and heal faster if you continue to take in nourishment.
• If implant(s) have been placed on only one side of your mouth, you may eat a regular diet on the opposite side after the bleeding has stopped. Return to a normal diet as soon as possible unless otherwise directed.

• Swelling around the mouth, cheeks, eyes and sides of the face is a normal reaction to surgery. The swelling will not reach its maximum until two - three days post-surgery. Ice packs will minimize the swelling. We will provide you with an ice pack, but you can also use a bag of frozen, peas, corn or a bag filled with ice.
• Leave the ice packs on continually while you are awake. After 36 hours, ice has no beneficial effect.  Swelling or jaw stiffness that persists for several days is a normal reaction to surgery.
• Sometimes black, blue, green or yellow bruising/discoloration will follow swelling. This is a normal post-operative occurrence.

 Pain Management

• At the first sign of pain or discomfort, take your prescribed pain medication as directed or aspirin or ibuprofen.  Over the counter pain relievers may be repeated every four hours as needed for pain.  Eating a snack prior to taking your medication may prevent nausea and vomiting.
• Pain medications can make you dizzy, so be careful when going from a lying down position to standing.  Becoming lightheaded when standing up suddenly is not uncommon. Before standing up, you should sit for one minute then get up.

Recovery

• With local anesthesia plus IV sedation, numbness should last two to three hours on the upper jaw and eight to twelve hours on the lower jaw.
• With local anesthetic only, numbness should not last longer than three hours.
• Acetaminophen or ibuprofen dose can be repeated every four hours as needed for pain.
• Keep fingers and tongue away from the implant(s).
• Avoid chapped lips by using Vaseline or Chapstick to moisten them.
• Be absolutely sure to take all the prescribed antibiotics at the correct times (as directed) until they are completely gone to help prevent an infection from forming.

Second Day of Surgery Instructions

Oral Hygiene

In order to heal completely, you must practice good oral hygiene. On the day after your surgery, use Peridex twice daily, after breakfast and before bed. Pour half a cap full of the Periodgard and swab the implant area for 20 seconds twice a day. Also, do a warm salt water rinse (a level teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) at least four to five times a day, especially after meals. Do not worry about brushing your teeth around the healing abutments – just be gentle initially with the surgical areas.

Activity

Limit physical activities immediately after your surgery. Rest is best. We recommend no exercise or hard manual labor for two to three days after surgery.  Exercising may cause painful throbbing and bleeding. If this occurs, discontinue exercising. Keep in mind that your nutrition intake is different following surgery, and this change in your diet may weaken you, and may further limit your ability to exercise.

Wearing your Prosthesis

Be sure to follow Dr. Eklund's recommendations thoroughly for wearing your partial or full dentures and/or flippers.

Potential Complications

• Sore Teeth - Teeth adjacent to the surgical area will sometimes shift slightly and be sore for several days. If this does not improve, please bring this to our attention at your one week post-op visit.
• Sore Throats / Pain upon Swallowing – After surgery, your throat muscles may become swollen and as a result, the normal act of swallowing can become painful. This will subside in 2 - 3 days. Stiffness of the jaw muscles may cause difficulty in opening your mouth for a few days following surgery. This is a normal post-operative event which will resolve in time.
• Drug Reaction - If you are experiencing adverse effects from drugs, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, itching or other affects, discontinue use of your medicine and call the office.
• Hot and Cold Sensitivity - Occasionally teeth adjacent to the surgical areas are sensitive to thermal changes for six to eight weeks following surgery. If this persists longer, please contact our office.
• Post-Operative Infections - The usual symptoms are swelling and pain. Please start hot salt water rinses and contact our office for antibiotics and/or an appointment. If you need to speak with the doctor on call, please call the office at (713) 439-7575. If there is any chance you may need a prescription, please have the pharmacy telephone number and make sure that pharmacy is open.
• Vomiting/Nausea - In the event of nausea and/or vomiting following surgery, do not take anything by mouth for at least an hour including your prescribed medicine. You should then sip on Sprite, tea, or ginger ale. Sip slowly over a 15 minute period. When the nausea subsides you can begin taking solid foods and your prescribed medicine.
• Numbness of the Lip, Chin, or Tongue - These are normally temporary in nature and there is no cause for alarm. Be careful not to bite your lip or tongue while it is numb.
• Slight Fever – It is not uncommon to have a slightly elevated temperature immediately after surgery.  If your temperature persists, notify the office. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen should be taken to reduce your fever.

If you have heavy bleeding, severe pain, or a reaction to the medication, call our Houston office immediately at (713) 439-7575 or the Sugar Land office at (281) 277-6622.