Dental Implant Pain: What's Typical & When To Get Help - Healthline

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HealthlineSubscribeIs It Common to Experience Pain After Getting Dental Implants?

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Archibald, DDS — Written by Natalie Silver on July 9, 2021

Does the procedure hurt?
Following a procedure
How long pain lasts
Intense pain causes
If there’s pain after 2 weeks
If there’s pain long-term
Takeaway

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 provides a permanent root for a replacement false tooth.

You’ll be under local anesthesia and shouldn’t feel pain during dental implant surgery.

Recovery may include pain that lasts a few days, but it can be managed with medication. Pain that lasts longer than a few days or gets worse may require medical care.

Getting dental implants is often the middle of a three-step process. The entire process can involve tooth removal, implant rod or screw insertion, and replacement tooth insertion. These procedures may be spaced far apart.

It can take months for the rods to fuse to your bone. Your oral surgeon will wait to place a replacement crown until your bone firmly sets the titanium rods.

Does a dental implant surgery hurt?

You shouldn’t feel pain during dental implant surgery, because the procedure involves anesthesia. This will include local anesthesia, and may include additional sedation or general anesthesia. Your oral surgeon will explain anesthesia options prior to surgery.

Your unique needs may require a certain type of anesthesia to avoid feeling pain during the procedure.

Pain after a dental implant

You’ll probably feel some pain or discomfort after dental implant surgery, but it shouldn’t last more than a few days.

The pain may feel more acute when the local anesthesia from the procedure wears off. It’s likely that the pain will be near the site of the dental implant.

Other symptoms you may experience after dental implant surgery include:

bleeding at the surgery site
swelling around the gums and the face
minor bruising
jaw pain

To manage and reduce pain, your oral surgeon will provide instructions for proper care after surgery. Post-procedure care may include:

prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications for pain
avoidance of certain foods, such as hard and hot foods
ice packs to reduce swelling
rest on the day of the procedure and possibly in subsequent days, depending on how you feel
instructions on how to care for the surgical site

How long should discomfort and pain last following a procedure?

Pain following a successful dental implant procedure should be temporary if everything heals as it should. Your pain may last 3 to 5 days after the procedure. You may only need to take pain medications for 1 or 2 days.

It’s possible that you can resume daily activities the day after the procedure if you feel up to it.

You may have swelling, bruising, and jaw stiffness for a bit longer. These symptoms should fade in 7 to 10 days following the surgery.

Causes of throbbing pain after dental implant procedure

It’s uncommon to experience throbbing pain for an extended period of time after a dental implant procedure. You may feel sharper pain a few hours after the procedure as the anesthesia wears off, but it should diminish with pain medications and time.

You may develop a complication after the procedure that causes additional pain. These instances need to be reviewed immediately by your oral surgeon or dentist.

Incision line opening

This is one of the most common complications following an implant procedure. It occurs when the tissue surrounding the rod reopens after surgery.

You may feel pain or irritation if the incision opens. Your oral surgeon may instruct you to rinse your mouth a few times per day with a chlorhexidine rinse or to take an antibiotic to avoid infection.

If the pain doesn’t lessen, you may need additional medical care.

Improperly fitted implant

Discomfort or pain may be a sign that the implant isn’t fusing to the bone correctly. The implant may need to be removed and possibly reattached at a later time.

Infection

An infection occurs when bacteria enters the surgically impacted tissue and prevents it from healing. The wound site may reopen or fail to heal.

Other signs of dental implant complications

If you experience other symptoms (in addition to pain), it may be a sign of post-procedure complications. Call your oral surgeon or dentist immediately if you experience:

fever
throwing up or nausea
worsening swelling
continued, excessive bleeding a few hours after the procedure

What to do if you have dental implant pain after 2 weeks

Pain that lingers after 2 weeks or that gets worse should be reviewed by your oral surgeon or dentist. It isn’t typical to experience pain this long after the procedure.

What to do if you have pain months or years after a dental implant

You could experience pain near your implants months or years after surgery because of implant failure or peri-implant diseases.

Most of the time, implants are a highly successful dental procedure. But there’s still a chance they could develop complications.

If you feel pain when you press or tap on your implant site, it may be the sign of implant failure. Other symptoms for implant failure may include:

horizontal movement of the implant
bone loss
inflammation
inability for the oral surgeon or dentist to attach a crown to the rod

You may be more at risk for implant failure if:

bacteria develops in your mouth
you have a history of gum disease or periodontitis
you smoke
you have untreated diabetes

You may also develop pain near your dental implant if you don’t care for the replacement teeth. Just like your natural teeth, dental implants require proper hygienic care. This includes brushing and flossing daily and visiting your dentist for regular cleanings every 6 months.

Neglected oral care may lead to peri-implant disease. This occurs when bacteria build up in the tissue surrounding your implants. It can lead to inflammation, tissue damage, and bone loss.

You may be able to treat these conditions when they affect just the soft tissue in your mouth. But you may need reconstructive surgery if the condition breaks down the bone underneath the implant.

Takeaway

You should expect temporary pain if you get dental implants. This pain is treatable with medication and will lessen over time.

Lingering or worsening pain may be a sign of a complication. Call your doctor if you’re still experiencing pain more than 5 days, or discomfort more than 10 days, after your procedure.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

After your oral surgery. (n.d.).https://dental.washington.edu/wp-content/media/oral-surgery/Afteryouroralsurgery.pdf
Care after minor oral surgery. (n.d.).https://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/talk/procedures/oral_surgery/
Dunson B. (2020). Will my dental implant procedure be painful?https://connect.aaid-implant.org/blog/dental-implant-pain
Gupta R, et al. (2020). Dental implants.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470448/
Hong DGK, et al. (2017). Recent advances in dental implants.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5671421/
Lehr R. (2019). What to expect after getting dental implants.https://connect.aaid-implant.org/blog/what-expect-after-dental-implants
Levco J. (2018). Considering dental implants? Here are 5 things you should know.https://connect.aaid-implant.org/blog/5-things-you-should-know-about-dental-implants
Nishime ML. (2020). What is the success rate of dental implants?https://connect.aaid-implant.org/blog/success-rate-dental-implants
Peri-implant diseases. (n.d.).https://www.perio.org/consumer/peri-implant-disease
What are dental implants? (2020).https://www.aaid-implant.org/dental-implants/what-are-dental-implants/

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Medically reviewed by Jennifer Archibald, DDS — Written by Natalie Silver on July 9, 2021

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