Congratulations on deciding to replace your missing tooth with a dental implant in Mesquite! While you’re probably looking forward to regaining your beautiful, complete set of pearly whites, you’re likely much less excited about having your dental implants placed. Thankfully, knowing what to expect can go a long way in helping you feel prepared, confident, and at-ease about your upcoming treatment. Here’s what your recovery process may look like and why you may feel some fatigue after rebuilding your smile.
What to Expect After Surgery
To keep your dental implant securely in place for decades to come, a small titanium post will be placed into your jawbone. Since this requires oral surgery, it’s completely natural to feel a little tired or sore afterwards. After all, your mouth needs time to adapt to the major change it just underwent. It’s normal for the gums around the implant site to be tender, swollen, and possibly bruised. You may also notice some light bleeding, but this is nothing to be alarmed about. All of these symptoms should clear up on their own relatively quickly as your mouth heals. Your dentist will probably recommend applying a cold compress, taking pain relivers, eating soft foods, and getting plenty of rest to help the process along.
Reasons Why You Might Feel Tired
It’s very likely that you’ll feel fatigued after your dental implant is placed. This could be caused by several factors, including:
- Stress: It’s natural to feel a little apprehensive leading up to your appointment. When your body is stressed, it releases specific hormones that are meant to prepare it for whatever is causing you anxiety. Once your treatment is over and the “threat” has passed, your body will relax, causing you to feel fatigued.
- Anesthetics: Thanks to modern advancements in dental technology and techniques, you are not likely to feel a thing throughout your treatment. Your oral surgeon will use plenty of anesthetic and possibly sedation to keep you as comfortable as possible. These can take some time to wear off in some cases, which can cause you to feel tired for the rest of the day.
- Bacteremia: Your mouth is naturally full of oral bacteria. Even though your dentist will ensure your mouth is clean and healthy before your procedure, there is still a small chance that some bacteria will escape into the bloodstream. Thankfully, your immune system should be able to fight it off without a problem, although that will leave you somewhat fatigued.
If you’re feeling tired after getting your new dental implant, the best thing for you to do is to get some rest. However, if you continue to feel noticeably fatigued or if your swelling, bruising, or discomfort don’t ease within the next several days, you should call your dentist. They’ll make sure the implant site isn’t infected and possibly prescribe you some antibiotics or pain relievers. While the recovery process for dental implants is a bit different than that of other options like dental bridges or dentures, it’s well worth any temporary fatigue! You’ll be enjoying your new happy, healthy, and complete smile before you know it!
About the Practice
At Texas Dentistry, we are committed to helping the smiles of Mesquite, TX and the surrounding communities stay healthy and intact for a lifetime! While we always do everything we can to preserve your natural teeth, we are proud to offer lifelike tooth replacement options like dental implants. Our highly trained team of dentists always goes above and beyond to make sure each of our patients is as comfortable and confident as possible on their journey towards their ideal smile. If you’d like to learn more about dental implants, we can be reached via our website or at (972) 329-4200.