Preparation for Implantation – Aftercare

Behavioral conduct of the patient before the placing of implants. Innovative prophylactic rules to avoid complications after the surgical proceeding of the implantation.

What to Do Prior to the Operation?

• With regard to oral hygiene, you are well advised to spend your day before the operation the way you would spend any other of your days.
  
  
• Prepare a list of the medications you are currently taking and leave a copy with your doctor.
  
  
• If you are administered natural remedies that contain certain enzymes and are supposed to cure swellings, severe bleedings may occur during operation, which are hard to stop.
  
  
• The preceding intake of pain killers containing spores of aspirin should be avoided in any case.
  
  
• But if your dentist has not planned any anesthesia for your treatment, you may take a sedative to get yourself calmed down and help your body to better regenerate.

What to Do After the Operation?

• Don’t drive on your own immediately after the surgical proceeding; look for someone who can drive you or use public transport. Please consider that your ability to drive is likely to be impaired for a few more days. This is particularly the case when you have taken some medicine.
  
  
• If your wound has been covered by a swab to stop the bleeding, you will have to fix it by pressing your teeth together for a period of one hour, after which you should remove it.
  
  
• Moderate pains occurring around the area where the operation has taken place as soon the effect of the injected pain killer is waning, are quite natural. However, if you feel you are be not able to bear the pain, you would be allowed to take some extra pain killers.
  
  
• Since the risk of after-bleedings is very imminent in operations in the oral areas, excessive physical efforts should be prevented, lifting and bending down avoided, and physical exercises stopped altogether.
  
  
• Only when your sensation in the area of the wound is fully restored will you be free to consider the intake of food. Within 3-4 days after the surgery, your diet has to be changed to fluids and soft foods. Avoid strong bites.
  
  
• Don’t drink alcohol or consume tobacco for the first 3 days following the operation. The intake of milk produce and caffeine should be reduced but can be consumed in reasonable quantities.
  
  
• Special fruit juices, such as 100 percent orange juice, may cause unpleasant irritations of your fresh wound. They might even dissolve the already congealed blood. Furthermore, among the drinks that patients should forbear from consuming are carbonated/sparkled drinks and hot beverages.
  
  
• During the first two days following the surgical operation, you should arrange your head’s sleeping position in a way that bloody saliva is able to rinse out of your mouth and need not be swallowed; that is, you will have to sleep with your head lifted.
  
  
• Your continuation of your routine dental hygiene will now include the special care and cleaning of your immediate wound area. In doing so, please do not touch the stiches.
  
  
• In order to avoid disruptions of the healing process, you are recommended to not to overdo the flushing of the mouth during the first week succeding the operation. Generally, we would advise against more that 3 flushing sessions each day because the substances of the fluid used may harm your wound.
  
  
• Instead, the wound should be cooled down by laying some piece of watered textile onto the area that is around the outside of your wound. This is supposed to prevent swellings.
  
  
• In some cases, after-bleedings may occur following an surgical proceeding or the removal of a tooth. Here, a wet gauze bandage would prove to be of great help. Just take the cooling textile or gauze, lay it down right onto the wound, and keep your jaw in a moderate biting position. If done so over a period of 1-2 hours, this application allows for the stop of the bleeding in most cases. This first aid measurement is meant to put an end to the after-bleeding and could be best accomplished while keeping seated. During this time, flushing sessions should be completely abandoned.
  
  
• In fact, infections of the wound in the oral cavity can occur after the fourth day following the oral surgery. It manifests itself in new and severely pulsating pains, replacing the already waning pain caused by the fresh wound. In cases of bacterial infections, any addition of heat will make the pain more acute and should therefore be avoided. Here, the wound will have to be cleaned and any impairing of the healing process needs to be prevented by replacing the gauze bandage and carefully flushing the mouth.
  
  
• Please keep in mind that, after about 7-10 days, the stitches will have to be taken out.