Healing After Dental Implants: What to Expect

If you are dealing with one or more missing teeth, dental implants might be an excellent way to restore your smile.

They are artificial teeth designed to mimic the structure, look, and function of a natural tooth. However, getting dental implants involves a lengthier process than you might expect. Patients often need around 4-6 months of healing before they can complete the procedure.

Check out this short article to understand what to expect when healing from implant dental surgery.

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What Is Dental Implant Surgery?

Dental implants are made from three elements:

• Metal post
• Abutment
• Dental crown

Implant surgery involves placing the metal post into the gums to replace the root of the missing tooth. The procedure itself is rather straightforward. The surgeon will make an incision into the gum and tissues, then insert the metal post.

The abutment and dental crown will be attached on top of the post only after the implant site is fully healed, which can take several months.

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What to Expect When Healing

After the metal post is implanted, the body goes through a process called osseointegration, during which your gums, jaw bone, and other tissues heal around the implant, effectively keeping it in place permanently.

Moreover, immediately after your surgery, a blood clot will form on the surgery site to protect all the nerves and tissues that are now exposed. Until the site heals, you may experience a few symptoms, such as:

• Mild pain and swelling
• Slight bleeding
• Soreness or sensitivity

However, these symptoms diminish as time goes by.

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Healing Process Timeline

So what happens during these 4-6 months? Well, check out this short timeline:

• First 3 days - This is usually the window where the discomfort can peak. You can manage your pain and swelling with ibuprofen or other pain medication;

• 4-7 days after - By this point, you should experience minor or no discomfort at all. The implant site will likely have healed, so no bleeding should be present;

• 4-6 months after - Osseointegration is a very slow process. To the naked eye, the implant site can look fully healed, but underneath the body still needs more time to fuse to the implant.

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Tips for Healing from Dental Implants

To support the implant healing process, you can:

• Eat soft foods for around 3-4 after your surgery, then slowly add harder foods 
• Chew on the other side of your mouth until the site heals (around 1 week)
• Avoid drinking through a straw or spitting to prevent dislodging the blood clot
• Stop smoking
• Take great care of your oral health with regular brushing or flossing

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Getting Dental Implants at Prime Dental

If you’re interested in dental implants, Dr. Vishal Kulkarni can help you find out if they’re the right solution for you, or recommend another way to restore your smile.

Request a visit at Prime Dental online, or call us at 903-200-5111 today.

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