A Handy Guide to Care for Dental Implants

What is Implant Treatment?

Implants are artificial roots made of titanium that are placed in the jawbone of missing teeth. Titanium, which adapts very quickly to the human body, combine with the jawbone after a short time. It is a very preferred treatment because no operation is performed on the adjacent teeth unless necessary. What should we do the day and the following days after the implant operation?

• It is quite normal to see swelling, oedema and purpura in the implant areas. In order to minimize swelling or purpura after the procedure, it is very important to apply cold therapy. An ice pack can be applied to the implant area (15-20 minutes on,,10 minutes of).Applying cold therapy to the same area for too long is dangerous as it may cause a freeze-burn. This process should be continued for 3 hours with the recommended application method.
• Any impact and physical exertion that may coincide with the implant surgery area should be avoided.
• You should not eat or drink anything for 2 hours after the surgery is completed. The consumption of hot drinks and foods should be stopped for 24 hours after the surgery and only soft and mushed, warm nutrition should be consumed. Solid, coarse-grained, fine-grained and sticky foods should be avoided for a while.
• Do not smoke for the first 24 hours, avoid alcohol. It is recommended not to smoke until the operation area is completely healed. Since alcohol and tobacco consumption decelerates the healing, it is better to stay away for a few weeks.
• You can start gargling 24 hours after the operation. Using dental mouthwash twice a day for 14 days expedites the healing process in your treatment.
• You may see blood-tinged saliva after surgery for 24 hours. This is due to blood clots from your post-operative wounds and is quite normal. Don’t worry. Do not spit or gargle to initiate and accelerate the healing process in the wound area.
• If your dentist considers that it is necessary to use antibiotics and pain reliefs use them as prescribed.

Let’s say you got your new smile with crowns after Implant surgery. So, what should you pay attention to in your oral care now?

• It is very important to clean the leftovers between the implants after every meal. For this, teeth should be brushed twice a day with a soft or electric toothbrush and it should be changed regularly. Only teeth brushing will not be enough to remove all leftovers. Therefore, dental floss can be preferred in daily hygiene routines.
• It is recommended to avoid smoking and drinking alcohol
• Visiting your dentist regularly is important part of your implant’s aftercare. They can inform you for any potential issues to avoid major ones.