What To Expect After Dental Implant Surgery
For many years now, Dr Harmit Kalsi and the team at Sheen Dental have been successfully placing dental implants in Richmond and during this time one of the most common questions that patients ask us prior to going ahead with the treatment is “does it hurt?” Hand on heart we can say that during the surgical procedure a patient will feel completely relaxed and should in fact experience no pain. That said, what about after surgery?
Although patients should experience no problems, there are certain aspects of the procedure that are only natural, post surgery. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what you might expect?
Swelling
The level of swelling may vary significantly depending upon the type and amount of surgery. For example a patient who has undergone a straight forward single implant with no bone augmentation will probably experience very little swelling, whereas a patient with multiple implants and a sinus lift might experience more extensive swelling. That said, although swelling generally increases over the first 24-48 hours after surgery, it subsides gradually somewhere between 10 days. If the swelling doesn’t subside by this point, then you should contact your surgeon immediately.
Pain
Similarly to swelling, pain levels can be different. These range from hardly any pain for simple implant operations through to moderate pain levels for more complex procedures. That said, most pain should be easily be managed by over-the-counter pain killers. Again any pain should subside quickly after a few days.
Bleeding
Not all implant procedures will result in bleeding but some will. The procedures with more chances of bleeding are sinus lifts and extensive implant surgery. If you do experience bleeding, then gently biting down on a piece of rolled up gauze should stem the source of the blood. If this doesn’t stop the bleeding over a 30-60 minute period then contact your surgeon and let them reassess the situation.
What about eating?
Even major implant surgery should result in people eating properly again within 3 weeks. Generally speaking the first few days should consists of relatively soft lukewarm foods such as fish, rice and soup. After this, try experimenting with foods such as pasta, meat that’s been cooked for a long time so it falls off the bone, or softer fruits. Usually within one month or so, you should be able to eat more difficult foodstuffs such as crisp apples or crunchy vegetables, lean meat, and nuts with no problems.
It’s very hard to envisage exactly what each individual patient will expect after surgery but hopefully this has given you some idea.
If you’d like to find out more about dental implants in Richmond and how they can help you then visit our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk where you’ll find a multitude of useful information. Alternatively if you need professional advice, then why not contact us on 020 8876 5277 and book yourself a consultation. It’s free and after you’ve spoken to Dr Harmit Kalsi and the team you should have a much better understanding of your options.