Post-Operative Instructions for Single Stage Implants

Your dental implant procedure requires special care to insure proper healing without complications.  The following instructions will help you achieve this goal.

• Take antibiotics as prescribed until gone.  If you develop a rash, hives, itching, or difficulty breathing, discontinue medication and call our office immediately.

•  Do not do any rinsing of your mouth the day of your procedure.

• Beginning the day after your procedure, use warm salt-water rinses using “head rolls”.  Hold the salt-water solution in your mouth and roll your head back and forth.  Do not swish or blow your cheeks out.  The sutures and tissues are fragile and excessive forces may open the wound. 

• Gently brush the abutment and the adjacent teeth with Peridex on a soft non-rotary, non-electric toothbrush or  Q-tip starting 24 hours after your surgery. Three times a day for two weeks. Keep the abutment free of plaque and shiny. 

• Chew on opposite side of mouth. Do not chew with your new implant.

• Clean all other teeth as you normally would starting the day after your surgery. However, DO NOT use any form of electric toothbrush.

• The sutures that are used are resorbable or dissolvable.  They will come out on their own in approximately twenty-one days.  DO NOT attempt to remove the sutures yourself.

Note:  Rinsing with Peridex mouthrinse for long periods of time can cause staining of your teeth.  These stains can be easily removed at your next hygiene appointment at your Dentist’s office.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns: Santa Cruz Oral Surgery Office Phone Number 831-475-0221