After Placement of Dental Implants

Please read the following instructions carefully. Following these instructions is essential to achieve a successful result. Also, these instructions will make your postoperative course more comfortable and will help to avert any unnecessary complications. If there are any questions or problems, please contact our office during normal business hours at (864) 458-9800.

1. After leaving our office, rest and avoid strenuous activities for the remainder of the day and tomorrow. Keep your head elevated (extra pillow) the first two nights after your surgery.
   
   
2. Moderate discomfort is expected for the next two days. If necessary, take the pain medication that has been prescribed. Take only as directed. If these do not alleviate your discomfort, please call the office.
   
   
3. Expect some swelling. It may take 3-4 days before it reaches maximum. Bruising may also occur. Immediately after surgery, ice packs should be applied to the outside of the face over the area affected. Apply for 20 minutes on/20 minutes off. Repeat this alternating procedure for the first day only.
   
   
4. Slight bleeding may continue for up to 24 hour or so. This is not unusual and is no cause for alarm. Rinsing the mouth interferes with the clotting of the blood, so do not rinse vigorously the first evening. If excessive bleeding occurs it may be stopped by biting with firm compression on a wet roll or gauze dressing, for 30-45 minutes. Sitting quietly in an upright position will also aid in the control of bleeding. If these measures do not succeed, call the office.
   
   
5. A slight fever is usual for a day or so following any surgery. Fever may be caused by inadequate fluid intake as well. An Adult should consume 8-12 glasses of fluid each day. If an antibiotic was prescribed, be sure to take as directed. If prolonged or extreme, please do not hesitate to call the office.
   
   
6. ALCOHOL AND SMOKING ARE ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS FOLLOWING SURGERY.
   
   
7. If you are wearing a denture, please discuss this with your surgeon. Dentures may not be worn for the first 10 days following surgery. After that period, old dentures may not be worn until your dentist has relined them. Insertion of dentures too early or removing and inserting too frequently may jeopardize successful healing.
   
   
8. The following is recommended for oral hygiene. After today, rinse several times daily with warm salt water, especially after eating. Do not rinse vigorously the day of surgery. Commercial mouth rinses or other disinfectants should not be used unless prescribed. You may gently brush your natural teeth the first day of surgery, being careful not to disturb the surgical sites.
   
   
9. Only soft foods should be consumed for the first 5 days following surgery, to avoid trauma to the surgical sites. After 5 days, you may advance your diet as tolerated. If you do not have dentition, consume only liquids or pureed food. Semi-liquids or mashed foods may be added to the diet after the 5th day.
   
   
10. A good diet is essential for adequate healing. A good intake of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins can be obtained from various food supplements such as Ensure, if you are not able to eat a soft diet. Milk shakes and liquid breakfast drinks are also good choices to supplement your nutrition. The following soft foods require little or no chewing and can be added easily to your diet: soup, jell-O, eggs, cereals, soft noodles, baby foods, mashed potatoes, yogurt, milk and ice cream.

Technical Note:

Our downloadable forms use the Adobe Acrobat Reader to allow patients the convenience of reading and signing their Surgical Instructions from home or work. Please download the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site if it is not already installed on your system. It is important that you have at least version 5 of the plugin, in order to successfully use our forms.