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Missing teeth are a common thing in life—in fact, around 50% of Americans experience tooth loss in adulthood. While losing a natural tooth cannot be avoided sometimes, acting right away can protect your oral health. Replacing any lost tooth with dental implants in San Antonio can be crucial.

Implants are a durable restoration that stands on your jawbone, allowing it to offer optimal stability and stimulation to your bone. Doing so keeps your bone healthy and helps prevent further tooth loss in the area. While the implant placement process can be a little painful, luckily, there are things you can do to manage the discomfort.

Dental Implant Pain: What Is Normal?

During dental implant surgery, a surgeon opens up tissue in your mouth and drills one or more titanium rods into the bone underneath your gums. This gives a substitute artificial tooth a permanent root.

This process shouldn't cause you any pain initially because you'll be under local anesthesia. Nonetheless, it's common to feel uncomfortable while recovering, especially as the procedure's local anesthesia wears off. The pain will probably be close to where the dental implant is located.

Following dental implant surgery, you might also experience the following symptoms:

• Bleeding at the site of surgery
• Swelling in the face and around the gums
• Minor bruising
• Jaw pain

This discomfort should last a few days after implant placement and can be managed with medication. If it doesn’t start to improve after a few days or gets worse, it may require medical care.

What Can You Do to Manage Dental Implant Pain?

Discomfort after implant surgery is normal, but that doesn’t mean it's fun to deal with. Pain in the jawbone can be especially debilitating, making it impossible for you to perform your daily tasks while causing other side effects like bruising, inflammation, and headaches.

To reduce these symptoms, there are some things you can do, such as:

1. Take Prescribed or Over-the-Counter Pain Medication

After implant surgery, your dentist will probably prescribe you some medications to deal with the pain. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) are commonly recommended to manage post-op pain. By also helping reduce inflammation, some of these medications can also foster the healing process, so take them as indicated.

If your dentist prescribes a stronger painkiller, follow the instructions carefully and avoid alcohol or driving while taking it.

2. Use Cold Compresses

Apply an ice pack to your cheek near the implant site for 15–20 minutes during the first 24–48 hours.

This helps reduce swelling and numb the area, easing discomfort.

3. Rest and Elevate Your Head

To prevent the healing process from being disrupted, it’s crucial to avoid strenuous activity for the first 24–48 hours after the surgery. We recommend taking a day or two off; physical activity is a strict no.

You can also keep your head elevated while you rest to reduce swelling and pressure.

4. Stick to a Soft Food Diet

Eat soft, cool, or lukewarm foods like smoothies, yogurt, mashed potatoes, soup (not hot), or scrambled eggs. Avoid chewing near the implant site and avoid hard, spicy, sticky, or hot foods for at least a few days.

5. Avoid Smoking and Alcohol

Smoking and drinking alcohol are strictly prohibited for at least 72 hours after implant surgery. These substances can delay healing and increase the risk of implant failure and infection.

Ideally, you should refrain from them until healing is complete.

Protect Your Dental Implants in San Antonio

By managing discomfort after getting a dental implant, you can promote healing and put yourself on the right path for a smooth recovery. In addition to following these tips, it’s important to look out for signs of complications, like excessive bleeding, fever or chills, and pus.

If you notice any of them, call your dentist at La Cantera Group right away. We’ll look for the cause of these issues and ensure the implant integrates properly with the bone.