After your surgery

After dental implant or bone graft surgery

These instructions cover the first days after implant surgery, a bone graft or a sinus lift, including zirconia implants and full-arch treatment. Keep this page handy, and share it with whoever is looking after you.

Questions? (905) 582-2188One-week guide
  • Don’t chew on the area
  • Cold packs for 3 days
  • Soft foods
  • No smoking or vaping
What to expect
  • TodayRest, cold packs and soft foods. Don’t rinse or spit.
  • Days 1 to 3Swelling builds, then starts to ease. Begin gentle salt-water rinses.
  • After one weekTenderness settles. Follow your one-week guide.
  • 3 to 6 monthsThe implant or graft heals into the bone. We check it before the next step.
Your recovery

How to care for yourself

Take all medications as prescribed, and call us if anything worries you.

The first few hours at home

  • Rest at home with your head raised on pillows.
  • Start your cold packs as soon as you get home.
  • Have something soft to eat before taking pain medication.
  • Don’t pull your lip or cheek to look at the area. It can pull on the stitches.
  • Avoid strenuous physical activity for 1–2 days after surgery.

Protect the implant or graft

  • Don’t chew on the surgery area for at least one month, or longer if we tell you.
  • Keep your tongue and fingers away from the area. If you can see a small cap at the gum line, that’s the healing cap. Leave it alone.
  • If a healing cap or temporary tooth comes loose, keep it and call us.
  • After a bone graft, a few small, sand-like grains may come out in the first days. That’s normal.
  • If you have stitches, we’ll tell you whether they dissolve on their own or need to be removed.

If you had IV sedation or general anesthesia

  • You’ll be drowsy for several hours. Get up slowly, as you may feel light-headed.
  • A responsible adult must take you home and stay with you for 24 hours.
  • For the next 24 hours, do not drive or operate any vehicle or machinery.
  • Do not drink alcohol, and avoid making important legal or financial decisions, for 24 hours.
  • A small bruise where the IV was placed is common. If the area becomes red, hard, warm or more painful, call us.
  • Nausea may occur. Ginger ale or soda crackers may help, and Gravol is available without a prescription. Follow the package instructions.

Swelling and bruising

  • Swelling can take up to three days to reach its maximum.
  • Elevate your head on pillows for the first few days.
  • Apply a cold pack to your face for 20 minutes at a time for the first three days.
  • After the first three days, a warm compress can help.
  • Bruising on the cheek or jaw is common and fades over a week or two.

Bleeding

  • A small amount of bleeding is normal for the first 24–48 hours.
  • If bleeding persists or is heavy, place a moistened gauze over the site and bite firmly for 30 minutes. Repeat with fresh gauze if needed. If you can’t bite firmly, press the gauze with your fingers.
  • You can use a moistened tea bag instead of gauze.

Numbness

  • Your lips, cheek and tongue may stay numb for several hours. Be careful not to bite them or burn yourself with hot drinks.
  • If numbness is still there the next day, call us.

Medications & antibiotics

  • Take all medications as prescribed by your surgeon, and follow the directions.
  • If you take birth control pills and are prescribed or given antibiotics, the pill may be less effective. Use another method of birth control for the rest of your current cycle.

Diet

  • When you get home, you can drink clear fluids at room temperature right away (for example, apple juice or broth).
  • Start soft foods when you feel ready (for example, fresh pasta, scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes), and chew on the other side.
  • No alcohol for 24 hours.
  • Do not use a straw for one week.

Keeping the area clean

  • For the rest of the day, do not rinse, brush, spit or swish.
  • From the next day, rinse gently with warm salt water (or your prescribed mouth rinse) two to three times a day, especially after meals.
  • From the next day, brush your other teeth as usual, avoiding the surgery area. Keep the area itself clean, but be gentle with it.

Smoking and vaping

  • Do not smoke or vape for at least 3 days after surgery.
  • The longer you stay off while the implant or graft heals, the better. Smoking slows healing and raises the risk of problems.

If you wear a denture or flipper

  • Wear a removable denture or flipper over the area only as we’ve told you. It must not press on the surgery site.
  • If it rubs or presses, take it out and call us. It may need an adjustment.

If you have fixed temporary teeth

  • For full-arch and Teeth in a Day patients.
  • Don’t try to remove the temporary bridge.
  • Soft diet for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Choose foods you can cut with a fork.
  • Avoid hard and sticky foods, and don’t bite into food with your front teeth.
  • We’ll show you how and when to clean under the bridge with a water flosser.

After a sinus lift

  • Only if you had a sinus lift, or we told you an implant or graft was close to your sinus:
  • Do not blow your nose.
  • Do not use a straw.
  • Light nosebleeds are normal.
  • If you feel congested, use an over-the-counter decongestant such as Otrivin.
  • If you must sneeze, do so with your mouth open.

When to call us

  • Bleeding that doesn’t slow with firm pressure on gauze.
  • Pain that gets worse after the third day instead of better.
  • A fever, or swelling that increases after the third day.
  • Numbness that is still there the next day.
  • A healing cap, implant or temporary tooth that feels loose.
  • Stitches that come apart, or more than a few graft grains coming out.
  • Trouble breathing or swallowing: call 911.
One week later

Your one-week guide

What to expect once the first few days have passed, while the implant fuses with the bone.

One week after implant surgery

The healing cap, eating, medications, smoking and next steps.

Had wisdom teeth removed instead?

Instructions for the first days after wisdom teeth removal under general anesthesia.

Questions?

We’re here to help

If you have questions or need clarification about your recovery, call us. For a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Call (905) 582-2188Contact us

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2525 Old Bronte Rd, Suite 280
Oakville, ON
L6M 4J2
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(905) 582-2188
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Fax: (905) 582-9886
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info@aspenoralsurgery.ca

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