After a dental implant
After an implant is placed it is usually not very sore, and there is little swelling. What matters most is keeping the area clean for the first few weeks.
Last updated:
On the day
- Take painkillers regularly, paracetamol or ibuprofen, as we advised.
- It is advisable to take the rest of the day off work.
- If you had sedation through a vein or a general anaesthetic, do not drive, operate machinery or sign legal documents for 48 hours.
If it bleeds
A little bleeding during the operation stops quickly. If it bleeds again at home, press on the area for at least 10 minutes with gauze or a rolled-up clean handkerchief.
In the first few weeks
- Keep the area as clean as you can. From the day after, rinse gently with mouthwash or warm salt water, a flat teaspoon of salt in a cup of water, so no food is left there.
- If we prescribed antibiotics, take the whole course.
- The stitches usually dissolve, but they can take a few weeks.
If it feels numb
In the lower jaw, a nerve can be bruised when an implant is placed. Your lip, chin or tongue may then feel numb or tingly, and more rarely your taste may change. This usually recovers within a few months and is rarely permanent. Tell us at your next check-up, or call us if it worries you.
Once it has healed
The area usually heals in about four months, and then the crown goes on. From then on, the implant needs the same care as your teeth: brush for two minutes last thing at night and once more during the day with fluoride toothpaste, clean around it every day with an interdental brush, and keep up your regular check-ups.
Call us
Call us if, around the implant:
- your gum is red, sore or swollen
- it bleeds
- something feels loose
It may be inflammation from plaque building up around it (peri-implantitis).