We made this guide so you know how long recovery takes and what to expect after dental surgery in Charlotte, NC. The slight ache you feel, the gauze pad you’re still biting down on, and your lip feels numb. We get it. The hours (even days) after your procedure may be confusing, even for seasoned dental surgery patients.
This page will explain what to expect in the recovery timeline and what to expect after surgery for the most common dental surgeries in our Uptown clinic, including: extractions, dental implants, bone grafting, crown preparations, and deep cleanings. Not general surgery recovery. No hospital stays. We will cover the specific dental work you just had (or are about to have) done, Right In Uptown Charlotte.
Most importantly, we have same-day appointments every day for all patients with post-op questions. If something is not right, you don’t have to sit at home and wonder. You call us, and we will see you. That’s personalized care for every smile, and it doesn’t end with your procedure.
What Is Going On In Your Mouth In The First 72 Hours?
You form a blood clot (not a scab) where the extraction or implant occurred in the first hour. This blood clot serves as a foundation for all healing. It protects the bone and nerves under it. New cells begin to rebuild your mouth, and your body creates inflammation in response to the procedure, making the area swell and feel warm. This is how your immune system works.
Here’s something that surprises a lot of patients: swelling does not peak until Day 2 and Day 3. We hear that a lot at our Fourth Ward office. “I woke up today, Tuesday, and I look worse than I did yesterday, Monday.” It’s normal. Your body will pump more fluid and white blood cells to that area, making you swollen and puffy. It might look bad, but it means your body is healing.
What Is Normal In This 3-Day Window
- Mild discomfort and discomfort. It will respond well to over-the-counter discomfort relievers.
- Mild bruising on the jaw or cheek.
- Small amounts of bleeding will subside with light pressure from gauze or an over-the-counter hemostatic dressing.
- Swelling will increase in the first 2-3 days after your procedure, and it will begin to decrease after that time.
Here’s What You Shouldn’t Do If You Call Us
- Bright-red bleeding that has continued longer than 2 hours despite gauze pressure
- Temperature over 101°F
- Bad taste or smell from the surgery site
- Discomfort that is worse after 4 days instead of getting better
A lot of our Uptown Charlotte patients live alone, and many have just moved here without having family nearby. Use this list of warning signs if you don’t have someone to call to say, “Hey, does this look right?” Any sign on the list is reason to call our office directly.
Day-By-Day: Recovery Timeline After Dental Surgery
Each mouth heals differently, but most patients recover around the same schedule. Here’s what you should expect:
- Day 1 (first 24 hours): Your primary job is to rest. Wear gauze for the first hour and replace it as needed if bleeding continues. Ice your cheek in 20-minute intervals (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off) to help reduce swelling. Stick to soft, cold or room-temperature foods like yogurt, applesauce, or smoothies. Take discomfort medication on a schedule, not as needed after the discomfort has gotten too severe. Do not rinse, spit, or use a straw. Most patients are okay to be up and walking at home, though they avoid strenuous activity.
- Days 2-3: Swelling peaks typically during this time, which is when a patient will think something has gone wrong. Switch to warm compresses if the swelling makes you uncomfortable. Continue a soft-food diet. You can now begin gentle salt-water rinses (1/2-teaspoon of salt in 8-ounces of warm water) once the 24-hour mark has passed. Many of our South End and NoDa patients call to ask: ” Can I return to work?” If you have a desk job and can manage the discomfort with over-the-counter discomfort medication, you can return, just avoid any meetings that would require a lot of talking.
- Days 4-7: Swelling begins to subside. Most patients begin feeling much better. You may expand your diet to include softer solid foods such as scrambled eggs, pasta, and cooked vegetables. Continue salt-water rinses after eating.
- Week 2: Most visible healing should be complete. If you had absorbable sutures, they are in the process of dissolving, and if non-absorbable stitches were placed, we will remove them at your follow-up. Most patients will return to their normal diet, just not chewing any hard or crunchy food in the surgical site.
- Months 1-3 (implant patients only): If your treatment plan was to have an implant, this is when the implant fuses (osseointegrates) with the jawbone. You do not feel this. Your only symptom is impatience. Check-ins are scheduled to make sure the healing process continues so we can proceed with the crown.
Can I Drive Home?
If you were only locally anesthetized (only the injection to block the discomfort), yes, you can. If you had any amount of sedation, you can’t. Please clarify the specifics of the sedation for your specific treatment with our team prior to your procedure.
Each procedure is different, and each patient is different. However, Dr. Raghav Sundaresh and Dr. Min Su Kwak will share their expectations for the length and nature of your recovery before you leave our office.
You Can Help Speed Up Your Healing
You cannot speed up the stabilization of your blood clot. That is a physiological process, and you are at the mercy of your body. However, you can remove obstacles that may interfere with that process.
There are four factors that are critical to your healing process:
- Diet matters. The first two days, you want to keep your diet soft and cool, in order to minimize physical or thermal disruption to your blood clot. Hot drinks and hot food increase the blood flow to the area that was just treated, and this can stimulate bleeding. Hard and crunchy food physically disrupts the treatment site and can dislodge your blood clot. After 48 hours, you can try some slightly warmer and harder foods. Listen to your mouth during this trial-and-error process.
- No exercise for 48 to 72 hours. No CrossFit or other strenuous exercise. This increases blood pressure and can dislodge the blood clot or initiate bleeding. Walking around our Plaza Midwood neighborhood is okay, but going to the gym is not.
- No suction from smoking, sucking on straws, or even spitting. The negative pressure in your mouth created by any suction device can dislodge the clot in the tooth socket and result in dry socket, which can be very uncomfortable. The American Dental Association indicates that smokers significantly increase their risks of this uncomfortable, avoidable complication. Smokers will want to stay off nicotine, at least for the initial healing process.
- Schedule your discomfort medication. Do not wait for discomfort to start or to get extreme before taking medication. The onset of discomfort and swelling will take longer to subside if you do not stay ahead of discomfort. Take your medication on a regular schedule, even when your discomfort is minimal, so that you don’t allow the discomfort to get out of hand.
One additional factor in the healing process is the Charlotte, NC weather. If you work long hours in an office that is constantly air-conditioned, or enjoy spending time outside when Charlotte’s weather is hot, humid, or windy, stay hydrated. Oral tissue will dry and heal more slowly when you aren’t adequately hydrated. Those of you who struggle with seasonal allergies, such as our spring-time pollen, should let our team know about the frequency of use of antihistamines and decongestants, as these drugs may also dry your mouth.
One factor not often considered is your comfort during your procedure. Anxiety reduction during your procedure has been found to contribute to lower anxiety and less discomfort after a procedure, as discussed by Kobayashi, Y., Tsurumaki, T., et al., The Relationship of Dental Anxiety to Post-Operative Outcome: A Systematic Review. Journal of Dental Research, March 25, 2016, vol. 95 issue 3 p. 253-264.
Dr. Min Su Kwak & Dr. Raghav Sundaresh Can Help Make Your Recovery As Easy As It Needs To Be.
But that care shouldn’t stop when you’re checked out the door. We aren’t like that, because you don’t want us like that. At Fourth Ward Dentistry, we review your discharge instructions verbally and in writing. We tell you what to expect, what to do, and what not to do. We even tell you exactly what time to call us in case things go south. We give you a direct line to reach our team, not a voicemail queue.
We set aside time each day to handle patient questions. Let’s say you call on Wednesday, worried about some discomfort or swelling you’re having the day after your surgery. We can usually squeeze you in the same day! That’s what personalized care for every smile means. We don’t just give you a pamphlet and hope for the best. This is especially true when you’ve had implants or bone graft surgery, and things just don’t seem to be right.
We have a comfort care menu, including towels, blankets, and Bose sound-canceling headphones, to help your body relax.
For Spanish-speaking patients in Steele Creek, Montclaire, and the Tyvola neighborhood in Charlotte, we offer Spanish-language recovery instructions and follow-up care. Comprehension gaps in postoperative recovery lead to complications. We bridge the gap by speaking your language. Hablamos Español.
After you have a dental procedure, parking shouldn’t feel like another source of stress when you’re trying to manage the gauze and still-numb side of your mouth. So we offer free validated parking, so you can focus on safely getting home.
If you have an upcoming procedure, have questions, or have had one recently and want some answers, please give us a call. We have time, and we want to help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
For most people, it’s days 2 and 3 because the inflammatory and swelling cycle peaks during this time. This is normal! It just means your body is doing its job. Day 4 is usually the first noticeable day of improvement. If you notice an increase in discomfort after day 4, instead of a decrease in discomfort, let us know.
They are the immediate phase (the first 24 hours, where the blood clot forms), the inflammatory phase (days 2 to 7, when swelling peaks and then subsides), the proliferative phase (weeks 1 to 3, where the body makes new tissue), and the remodeling phase (week 3 and beyond, when the tissue matures and strengthens). For implant patients, we add the months 1-3 as osseointegration.
After a simple extraction, you can expect about 1 to 2 weeks of tissue surface healing. The bone below the gum line, however, takes longer to remodel and mature. After an implant procedure, you can expect 3 to 6 months of osseointegration, and then your permanent crown. Dr. Sundaresh or Dr. Kwak can give you a time frame for that.
It’s not a matter of accelerating healing as much as eliminating factors that slow it down. In the first 48 hours after treatment, eat a soft food diet, avoid smoking and drinking with straws, skip hard exercise for two to three days, and take prescribed medication as directed. Keeping hydrated and getting enough sleep also helps your body’s own healing system to do its job well.