If you recently got dental implant surgery, you’re likely excited to reap the treatment’s benefits. After all, your new replacement teeth restore your smile’s looks and function! However, you’ll need to take it easy for a while post-procedure. That said, chances are you want to know when it’s okay for you to return to work. (You can’t take sick days forever.) Luckily, your Rocky Hill dentist can give you an answer. Here are three factors that’ll affect your recovery time and when you can get back to your job.
Whether You Needed Bone Grafting
Sometimes patients don’t have enough bone in their jaws to support dental implants. When that happens, a dentist will need to perform bone grafting to compensate. The latter procedure will let them move tissue from elsewhere in your body to augment the implant site.
Depending on its extensiveness, a bone graft before implant placement will extend your recovery. A minor one likely won’t alter your timetable much, but a complex one could add a few days.
Number of Implants Placed
The number of implants placed also influences the time you need to recover.
If you only got one or two, you likely won’t need long to heal. You could even head back to work just a few days after the treatment.
You’ll need more time, though, if you got three implants or more. In that scenario, you should add another day or two to allow swelling, bruising, and other side effects to subside.
How Well You Follow Post-Op Instructions
Regardless of the grafting or implant number, your dentist will send you home with post-op instructions. It’s vital that you follow them, as doing so will reduce the time needed for recovery.
Among other things, these instructions will likely tell you to:
- Clean Your Mouth: You’ll need more time at home if you contract a post-procedure infection. Therefore, keep that from happening by brushing your teeth normally. You could also add a warm saltwater rinse to remove bacteria and reduce lingering soreness.
- Eat a Soft-Food Diet: Have softer foods for your meals until your implants fuse more with your jawbone. These items will reduce the odds of your new teeth failing.
- Don’t Smoke: Smoking tobacco products would delay healing, cause infections, and limit your implants’ long-term success.
Even if you’re eager to get to the office, you must let your mouth heal correctly from treatment. That way, when you return, you can dazzle your coworkers with a gleaming, restored smile.
About the Practice
Family Dental Care of Rocky Hill is based in Rocky Hill, CT. As led by Drs. Michael Fazzone and Rachel Maciog, the practice provides honest and transparent care. Therefore, its staff only offers preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry that its patients truly need. They can also perform therapy for gum disease or sleep apnea. For more information or to book an appointment, you can reach them at their website or by phone at (860)-721-9002.