A dental implant was placed into the bone to support a dental prosthesis or crown.

 

The pain felt after dental implant surgery can vary significantly. Pain is generally grafter if bone grafts or gum grafts are performed at the same time. Pain is usually worst in the first 3 days and should improve by 10 to 14 days. If the pain increases significantly a few days (3 to 7 days) after implant placement, please call for instructions.

 

Swelling experienced after implant surgery may also vary significantly. Just like pain, swelling is usually greater if additional grafting procedures are performed in conjunction with the implant placement. The swelling is usually greatest in the first 5 days and should start to decrease by 7 to 10 days. If the swelling increases significantly a few days (3 to 7 days) after implant placement, please call for instructions.

 

You will probably have a little bit of bleeding and a pink color to your saliva for the first day or two after surgery. Holding small amounts of ice water in your mouth will usually stop any slight oozing. However, if there is excessive bleeding the day of or continual bleeding the day after surgery, please call for instructions.

 

Bruising may also occur after implant placement. The bruising is likely going to occur under your eye, in your cheek and/or under your chin. If you do end up bruising, it will usually show up 1-2 days after surgery and may last up to 10 to 14 days.

 

You will probably have a little bit of bleeding and a pink color to your saliva for the first day or two after surgery. Holding small amounts of ice water in your mouth will usually stop any slight oozing. However, if there is excessive bleeding the day of or continual bleeding the day after surgery, please call for instructions.

 

The sutures need to stay in place at least 10 days but may be left in place up to 1 month. We do this in order to keep the gums from opening up and exposing the implant.

 

The time it takes for the implant to integrate is based on two things: Stability and Bone Quality. Implant that are placed with a high degree of stability will integrate faster than implants placed with low stability. In addition, implants placed in denser bone will integrate faster than those placed in less-dense bone. In general, it takes about 3 months for implants in the lower jaw, 4 months for implants in the front of the upper jaw, and 6 months for implants in the back of the upper jaw. This is all subject to considerable variability and can only be assessed at the time the implant was placed.