Recommendations for patients: what to do after dental implantation

The first days after surgery Medicines Physical activity Nutrition Example of a diet What can you drink?
Hygiene Lifestyle What not to do When to see a doctor urgently How to speed up rehabilitation An implant is a metal screw that is screwed into the bone in place of a lost tooth. In order for it to perform all the functions of a natural root, the implant must take root and be overgrown with bone tissue. This ensures its stability in the gum. Engraftment times vary from patient to patient, taking on average 3-5 months

. To ensure that the pin is secured in the gum and does not wobble under load, dentists ask you to follow a number of recommendations. This reduces the risks of complications and rejection to zero, speeds up healing and improves quality of life.

Implantation is a surgical intervention. After any operation, you need time to recover. The first days after dental implantation are especially important, when the mucous membrane is vulnerable to infections and the implant has not yet stabilized sufficiently.

What can and should be done in the first days after implantation surgery

Immediately after surgery, most patients feel some weakness

. These are the consequences of the doctor’s manipulations and strong psychological stress. The jaw may become numb due to the anesthesia. These symptoms disappear quickly, on the same day. Maximum, in 3-4 days, and their intensity decreases all the time.

The main recommendation these days is to stay within reach of a doctor. This will help you get advice if something goes wrong. In large clinics, such as the ROOTT MCDI, ongoing support for patients is organized. You can contact us with a question or problem at any time and from any city. You will definitely be given advice on care after dental implantation, even if you are far from Moscow.

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5. After the operation to install implants, it is recommended to refrain from physical activity for 3-4 days - hard work, active sports. You need to protect your body from both cooling and overheating, so refrain from visiting the sauna, bathhouse, swimming pool and dress according to the weather.

6. It is equally important to follow the implantologist’s recommendations regarding nutrition! In the first days after implantation, you should not eat too hot, cold, or spicy foods; eating hard and tough foods, such as nuts and seeds, is contraindicated.

You should definitely not drink alcoholic beverages - neither strong nor weak.

We strongly discourage you from drinking alcohol after implantation for the following reasons:

• Even a minimal amount of alcohol has the most negative effect on the process of restoration of hard and soft tissues;
• Fusel oils, which are present in all types of alcoholic beverages, can provoke inflammation of the gums and, accordingly, increase the risks of complications and implant rejection;
• After implantation, you will need to take a course of antibiotics, and these drugs are incompatible with alcohol;
• Alcohol impairs the functioning of the immune system.

If you smoke, after implantation you will have to wait a few days and refrain from consuming cigarettes. You should not drink strong tea and coffee. It is better to replace these drinks with plain water or dried fruit compote. When eating food after implantation, you should try to chew on the non-injured side of the jaw so as not to irritate the wound.

These are general recommendations that are issued by an implantologist after implantation; let’s look at some of their points in more detail.

Medicines and related procedures

Your doctor will likely prescribe pain medications for you. It is important not to get carried away and not to use the medicine more often than once every 4 hours. Although, in most cases, a tablet at night is enough. You should not take painkillers in advance, before the anesthesia has worn off. The pain syndrome may be very mild; pills are not needed.

• Cold compresses
  will help relieve swelling. A frozen bag of vegetables, or pieces of ice in a bag should be wrapped in several layers of fabric for greater comfort and to prevent frostbite on the skin. For 1-2 hours, you need to alternate compress (5-10 minutes) and rest (20 minutes). Then compresses can be done occasionally.
• Be sure to take all prescribed medications
  . Antibiotics are designed to prevent the development of infections, antihistamines reduce swelling. Vitamin complexes supply the body with building substances for rapid recovery, and antibacterial solutions destroy pathogenic microflora in the oral cavity.

In the first days you should not rinse your mouth

. The disinfectant solution is simply held in the mouth for a few seconds.

Nutrition

When can you eat after implantation? The shortest period of fasting is until the anesthesia wears off. The general recommendation is to wait 3-4 hours

. Specific nutritional advice during post-implant rehabilitation may vary slightly depending on the protocol (minimally invasive or classic, immediate loading or not). However, the general principles are the same:

• give preference to warm food, food should not be too hot or cold;
• in the first days, avoid solid foods;
• avoid spicy, pickled, salty foods;
• make sure that the diet is of high quality and healthy;
• drink a lot of water ( 1.5-2 l
  ).

Approximate diet

Calcium is a building material for bones. Therefore, if you consume dairy products, focus on them.

• Cottage cheese, yoghurt, kefir, fermented baked milk and milk will help diversify your diet and avoid unnecessary stress on the implant.
• A baby food diet is ideal. It is subject to strict safety and nutritional requirements, so vegetable, fruit and meat (required!) purees will provide your diet with the necessary nutrients.
• Meat broths contain a lot of useful substances, including collagen - an important building material for tissues. In the first week, it is better to give preference to pureed soups.
• You can puree not only soups, but also vegetables and fruits.
• Porridge, milk, water, broth.

How long after you can eat solid food depends on the method of implantation.

When using the immediate loading protocol, you can transition to solid food much earlier, on the second day. Chewing load stimulates blood circulation and tissue regeneration

What is better to drink after dental implantation?

Water is the best choice. It not only replenishes fluid, but also removes residual elements of drugs from the body.

Herbal tea is also good. Provides fluid and calms nerves. The main thing is that it is not hot.

Fresh juices and smoothies will give you a boost of energy and a complex of microelements. Cold temperatures should be avoided here, so it's best to let the ingredients sit at room temperature rather than using them straight from the refrigerator.

Hygiene

If you have stitches, try not to touch them with your tongue and, especially, with your hands. Rinsing with antiseptics should be replaced with oral baths. Just hold the solution in your mouth without making vigorous movements.

• Brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush, gently and thoroughly. Bacterial plaque is a direct path to infection.
• It is better to use anti-inflammatory pastes with herbal complexes.
• A week after the operation, treatment with an irrigator is added to hygiene procedures. Water washes away small particles stuck between the teeth and massages the gums, promoting their healing after implantation.

After surgery, be sure to use a new toothbrush.

After the recovery period, it is recommended to care for your teeth in the same way as natural teeth. Clean 2 times a day

, use an irrigator, perform professional dental hygiene and visit the dentist
2 times a year
.

Lifestyle

Our life consists of more than just diet and exercise. There are a lot of things planned for every day. Not everyone has the opportunity to go on vacation or take sick leave. What you definitely shouldn’t do is go to work immediately after installing the implant. Give your body time to recover, take a time out, at least for a few hours.

• Avoid extreme temperatures. Cancel the bathhouse, sauna or ice-hole jumping. It’s also better to postpone the pool for a month.
• You should not fly on an airplane during the first week. If a sinus lift was performed, it is better to postpone the flight for a month.
• During your recovery from upper dental implants, you need to be careful when coughing and sneezing. Try not to puff out your cheeks, open your mouth only slightly. Blowing your nose is not recommended at all, but if necessary, do it without effort or strain.
• This is a good time to quit smoking. You absolutely cannot smoke on the first day, and then you simply cannot. If you can’t bear it, after each cigarette you need to rinse your mouth with an antibacterial agent like Miramistin. Smoking slows down recovery after implant placement. The percentage of successful engraftment in smokers is also lower than in non-smokers.

Serious consequences of smoking

Unfortunately, implantation in smokers has many risks. Addiction to tobacco negatively affects the ability of the artificial tooth root to take root and function normally. Scientists have long established a connection between structural rejection and the large number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Let's provide more detailed data. Smokers are diagnosed with peri-implantitis and complete loss of implants twice as often as people who try to lead a healthy lifestyle. These complications are the most serious and require immediate specialist intervention. In some cases, repeated surgery is not possible until the patient completely abandons his addiction.

Smoking affects not only implants, but also the condition of healthy teeth and soft tissues. Nicotine plaque has a denser structure and a pronounced yellow tint, so it is much more difficult to remove it from the enamel surface. Even innovative toothpastes with a whitening effect are practically powerless here.

What not to do after dental implantation

We have already discussed some prohibitions above. What's even better not to do?

?

• Brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush until osseointegration is complete. Vibrations and pressure can loosen the pin. This also applies to overly vigorous cleaning with a regular brush. Implants love tenderness and accuracy.
• Use dental floss until the gums are completely healed. The irrigator takes on the function of dental floss during rehabilitation.
• Eat nuts, seeds, crackers, chew candy

Dental restoration is too big an investment to waste your efforts because you want crackers.

It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol after implantation. Fusel oil and impurities found in alcoholic drinks irritate the gums and provoke hematomas and inflammatory processes. Alcohol negates the effect of antibiotics. In addition, while intoxicated, it is difficult to follow recommendations, and it is easy to miss a doctor’s appointment or hygiene procedures. All this affects the healing of the implant.

Recommendations after implantation include a ban on coffee and strong tea. They raise blood pressure, which can lead to bleeding.

Recommendations after implantation: why is it important to follow them?

After the implantation operation, the implantologist treating the patient gives the most detailed recommendations for caring for the teeth and oral cavity. You must follow the recommendations given to you precisely and strictly because:

• When implants are implanted, the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity are injured and it is important that they fully heal and recover before the stage of permanent prosthetics. In addition, the speed and quality of engraftment of the dental implant will depend on the timing of bone tissue regeneration. If you do not follow the recommendations of the implantologist after implantation, such a careless attitude towards your own health can increase the time for tissue restoration, and therefore the time for engraftment of the implant. Until the process of its engraftment is completely completed, it is impossible to install a permanent prosthesis on the implant;
• Failure to follow the implantologist’s recommendations in the postoperative period can lead to the development of various types of complications, including rejection of the implanted implant. If the process of implant rejection develops to a certain stage, the artificial root will have to be removed, treated, and then re-implanted. Treatment of reimplantitis (inflammation leading to implant rejection) is a complex, lengthy process and fraught with additional significant costs for the patient!

IMPORTANT: Treatment and re-implantation under warranty are carried out only if the implant is rejected due to poor quality work by the implantologist. If the implant begins to be rejected due to the patient’s negligence towards his health, due to non-compliance with the recommendations issued by the implantologist, all costs of treatment and re-implantation will need to be paid independently!

When to start worrying

Slight swelling, pain for 2-3 days

after surgery are considered a normal reaction of the body to medical intervention. The wound may bleed slightly for several hours. The general condition after implantation is also important. If you feel well, swelling on days 4-5 may simply be an individual trait.

However, you need to see a doctor if:

• the pain does not go away on the 4th day after surgery, or even intensifies and pulsates;
• numbness spreads over a large area and does not subside;
• swelling appeared after everything returned to normal;
• the temperature does not fall or rises;
• the bleeding does not stop for more than 3 hours;
• when you press on the gum you feel a sharp pain;
• the prosthesis has become loose;
• It hurts to chew even soft food a few days after the procedure;
• discomfort after implantation does not go away for more than 7 days.

Further care

Despite the fact that tissue healing and recovery after dental implantation takes two to three weeks, throughout the entire period of implantation the risk of developing inflammation and complications is very high. After several months after the operation, the restrictions become less strict, but some important points must be observed.

✔ Food

throughout the entire engraftment stage it should be useful and correct. Give preference to foods containing vitamins (vegetables, fruits), but not too harsh. Before installing a permanent prosthesis, chewing on the side where the implant is located is not recommended.

✔ Regular cleaning of the implant and orthopedic structure.

It is recommended to use an irrigator or special toothbrushes.

✔ Preventive visits to the dentist.

After successful engraftment and installation of a permanent prosthesis, preventive visits to the doctor should be made at least once every six months.

Regardless of how much time has passed since the start of treatment (several days or several months), it is necessary to consult a doctor if complications are suspected: inflammation and severe pain that does not go away for a long time, noticeable disproportion of the face, discomfort from the prosthesis.