Are you thinking about getting dental implants? Are you wondering about the dental implant procedure?
Dental implants are relatively common, with about 450,000 implants placed each year. What’s more, if placed correctly, they have a success rate of 95 percent with a single tooth.
5 Things to Expect During Your Dental Implant Procedure
Here’s what you can expect during your dental implant surgery.
1. There Are Two Phases of the Dental Implant Procedure
The dental implant process consists of two phases. The first phase involves removing a tooth if needed. The oral surgeon will numb your mouth with local anesthesia.
Then, the surgeon makes an incision in your gums to expose your bone. They will use a quiet drill to create a hole in the bone for your implant.
They will insert the implant’s metal part with either a hand tool or drill in the hole. After the implant is in place, they will add a component to stay while you heal. Lastly, the gums are closed with stitches.
After several months, your implant will securely attach to your bone. Then it is time to add the permanent crown. This is in the piece that looks like your tooth.
The dentist will make the crown based on impressions and color matching, which may take a few visits.
The final step of the process is attaching your new crown to your implant.
2. You May Need to Change Your Diet After Surgery
To prevent any complications, you may need to change your diet for a few weeks after the procedure. This is because your mouth and gums may be irritated and sore. You should stick to soft foods like soup, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and mashed bananas for at least two weeks.
It would help if you also avoided hot and carbonated beverages for at least 48 hours after your procedure.
3. Oral Hygiene Is Essential
As your gums heal, you want to avoid infections by keeping both your gums and teeth healthy. This means you need to brush your teeth at least twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush.
You may also want to consider rinsing with warm saltwater as your mouth heals. Use about one cup of warm water with one teaspoon of salt.
You want to brush or rinse your mouth after eating to prevent any food residue in your implants. It would help if you kept that area as clean as possible.
It would be best to avoid smoking for the first few weeks because the operated area may get inflamed or infected.
4. Allow Your Mouth to Heal
Unfortunately, you may have bad breath as your mouth heals. Brush your teeth often, but gently.
You may also notice some hard, white tissue near the surgical site. This is normal and is a good sign that your gums are healing properly.
5. Long Term Care Is the Same as Your Regular Teeth
For dental implant longevity, you need to care for your implants just as you would your regular teeth. Brush them the same and also floss. It would be best if you also visited your dentist regularly.
Even though implants do not get tooth decay, you can still get periodontal disease in your surrounding gums.
Ready for Your Dental Implant Procedure?
Hopefully, this answered some of your questions about the dental implant procedure. If you are missing teeth or need to have a tooth pulled, having an implant can back your smile. Talk to your dentist today to see if you are a good candidate for this procedure.
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