Dental implant surgery comes with simple instructions when it comes to activities that patients can perform during recovery.
- The day of the surgery patients need to take it easy, go home and just get some rest. Try to stay lying down or at least leaning back.
- Due to the pain medication used during surgery most patients don’t feel pain on that day. They can brush their teeth gently without disturbing the surgical area. Standing up must be done carefully and slowly to prevent getting light headed from sudden movement.
- In the following days, patients will experience swelling of the face around the area of the surgery so getting rest, applying ice (eating ice cream is allowed!) and staying away from exercise is still required. Bending, lifting or strenuous activity will result in increased bleeding, swelling and pain.
- Even for people used to a regular exercise routine, trying to get back to it without proper rest for at least 3 to 4 days, could result in increased bleeding, swelling and discomfort.
- Patients sometimes forget that they are probably not taking normal nourishment, and this situation may weaken and limit their ability to exercise.
- When finally getting back to exercise if at any point during the activity any bleeding occurs then the patient should stop immediately and talk to the Doctor to monitor the situation.
- Some sports are more intense than others, so it might take longer for a patient to resume the whole routine after surgery. For example boxing can be very dangerous. The best decision is to stay away from it for a while (at least a week or two but the more the better) and when ready for comeback after a completed recovery, mouth guard is always and forever mandatory. The longer the patient can stay away from boxing the better. The ideal would be to postpone starting boxing until all crowns are placed and follow up bite adjustments etc, get done.
- For the first 48hs is best to abstain from sexual activity and let the patient get the needed rest. From that moment on, sexual activity can be performed without disturbing the surgical area and mouth to mouth contact should be avoided as well.
As a general rule the best way to a quick and safe recovery is to get some rest and enjoy the ice cream!