Your treatment is done. Here is what happens next.
Most of what you will feel in the first fortnight is expected and settles on its own. A small amount is not, and the difference is knowable. This guide sets out what is normal at each stage, what warrants a message, and what needs a dentist the same day — wherever in the world you are.
Some symptoms need same-day medical care, not a message
If you have any of the following, contact your local emergency medical service or attend an urgent care service where you are. Do not wait for a reply from us or from any clinic.
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Swelling spreading to the eye, neck or floor of the mouth
- Fever with facial swelling
- Bleeding that will not stop with firm pressure
- Sudden severe pain with a rapidly swelling face
Is what you are feeling expected?
Three questions. This gives you general orientation on whether a symptom fits the usual pattern — it cannot examine you, and it is not a diagnosis. When in doubt, always contact a dentist.
The first week, day by day
This describes the pattern after surgical work — extractions, implants, grafting. Crown and veneer patients typically experience a milder version of the same curve, without the swelling.
Anaesthetic wearing off
Numbness fades over several hours. Take painkillers before it does rather than after. Slight oozing is normal. Bite gently on clean gauze if needed. No rinsing today.
Peak swelling
Swelling and soreness are usually at their worst here, then start to reduce. Bruising may appear. Sleep with your head slightly raised. Soft food only.
Clear improvement
Swelling receding, pain manageable without regular painkillers. Gentle salt-water rinses after meals. If things are getting worse rather than better at this point, tell us.
Back to normal routine
Most patients are comfortable and eating a fuller diet. Some tightness or tenderness at the site is still normal, particularly after grafting.
Do not
Rinse vigorously, spit forcefully, use a straw, smoke, drink alcohol, or exercise hard. All of these disturb the clot that surgical sites depend on.
Eat soft, eat cool
Soup, eggs, yoghurt, pasta, fish. Nothing crunchy, nothing very hot, and chew on the opposite side from any surgical site.
Finish the medication
If antibiotics were prescribed, complete the full course even once you feel well. Take painkillers as directed rather than waiting for pain to build.
What is expected, and what is worth reporting
Keep this one. It covers the symptoms patients most often message us about, with the timescale that makes each one ordinary or otherwise.
| Symptom | Expected when | Report it when |
|---|---|---|
| After crowns and veneers | ||
| Sensitivity to cold | First 1–3 weeks, gradually reducing | Still present after a month, or worsening at any point |
| Gum tenderness at the margin | First 1–2 weeks after fitting | Red, puffy or bleeding at one specific tooth beyond two weeks |
| Teeth feel bulky or unfamiliar | First few days as the tongue adjusts | Still catching your lip or speech after two weeks |
| Bite feels slightly different | First few days | One tooth clearly hits first, or you develop jaw ache or headaches |
| Floss catches or shreds | Never | Immediately — this suggests a rough margin or overhang |
| After implants, extractions or grafting | ||
| Swelling and bruising | Peaks day 2–3, reduces from day 4 | Increasing after day 4, or spreading toward the eye or neck |
| Oozing or pink saliva | First 24 hours | Fresh bleeding that will not stop with 15 minutes of firm pressure |
| Aching at the site | First 3–7 days, improving | Severe pain starting or worsening around day 3–5 |
| Small graft particles in the mouth | Occasionally in the first days | Large amounts, or the site feels open |
| Numbness in lip or chin | Hours after anaesthetic only | Persisting the next day — report promptly |
| Stitches loosening | Around day 5–10 | All come away within 48 hours of surgery |
| While wearing temporaries | ||
| Mild sensitivity | Throughout, and it settles when the finals go on | Sharp pain on biting, or throbbing at rest |
| A temporary comes off | It happens — they are meant to be removable | Contact a dentist promptly; a prepared tooth should not be left uncovered |
| Slight staining of the temporary | Normal, they are not stain-resistant | Not a clinical concern |
| Any time, any treatment | ||
| Fever with facial swelling | Never expected | Same-day medical care |
| Difficulty breathing or swallowing | Never expected | Emergency care immediately |
| Bad taste or smell from one site | Never expected | Contact a dentist within a day or two |
General guidance for orientation, not a substitute for examination. Individual recovery varies. If something concerns you, contact a dentist regardless of what this table says.
Ceramic does not decay. The tooth underneath does.
This is the whole of long-term aftercare in one sentence. Crowns and veneers are lost through decay and gum disease in the natural tooth at the margin — the thin line where ceramic meets tooth, right at the gum.
Floss the margin, every day
Not the middle of the tooth — the edge, at the gum line. Slide the floss down and curve it against each side of the tooth. Interdental brushes work well where there is space. A soft brush twice daily, non-abrasive toothpaste, and no whitening pastes on ceramic: they cannot lighten it and the abrasives dull the polish.
Clean around and under
Implants cannot decay but the gum and bone around them can become infected — peri-implantitis, which behaves like gum disease and is the main cause of late implant loss. Interdental brushes, superfloss or a water flosser around each implant daily. Your clinician will show you the technique for your specific case.
Things that damage finished work
- Grinding without a guard. The leading cause of chipped ceramic. If a night guard was prescribed, wearing it is also usually a condition of the guarantee.
- Using teeth as tools. Opening packaging, biting nails, holding pins, chewing ice or pen lids. Front teeth were not built for it and ceramic is less forgiving than enamel.
- Abrasive or charcoal toothpastes. They dull the surface of ceramic permanently and it cannot be re-polished to its original finish.
- Skipping hygiene appointments. Professional cleaning reaches the margins you cannot. Ask your hygienist to use instruments appropriate for ceramic and implants.
- Smoking. Raises the risk of gum disease and peri-implantitis considerably, and stains the natural teeth beside your ceramic so the colour match drifts.
How to keep your guarantee valid
LD Klinik issues a 5-year written guarantee on implants and prosthetics. Guarantees across the industry share a similar shape, and it is worth understanding what keeps yours intact.
Your guarantee document is the authority on your specific case — read it, and keep it. Broadly, ceramic and implant guarantees are generally maintained by:
- Keeping regular check-ups. Six-monthly examination and hygiene with a dentist where you live. Many guarantee terms depend on demonstrable maintenance, so keep receipts or appointment records.
- Wearing a prescribed night guard. If bruxism was identified and a guard supplied, damage from grinding without it is a standard exclusion.
- Reporting problems early. A small issue caught at three weeks is usually simple. The same issue at three years may have caused damage that falls outside the original cover.
- Not having the work altered elsewhere. Adjustments by another clinician typically void cover on that unit. If a local dentist needs to adjust something urgently, message us first where you can — usually we can confirm it is fine.
Equally standard across the industry, guarantees generally exclude damage from accidents and trauma, failure caused by untreated gum disease or inadequate oral hygiene, and damage from grinding where a prescribed guard was not worn.
Finding a dentist at home who will see you
Some patients find their local dentist reluctant to take on maintenance of work done abroad. It is worth understanding why, because it is usually solvable and it is rarely personal.
A dentist asked to maintain work they did not plan or place is being asked to take on some professional responsibility for it without knowing what is underneath. That is a reasonable position, not hostility. What resolves it is information.
- Book a check-up and hygiene appointment, not a complaint. Frame it as ongoing maintenance. Most practices are happy to provide routine care.
- Bring your documentation to the first appointment. Treatment record, implant system and references, X-rays, guarantee document. A dentist who can see exactly what was done is in a far better position to help.
- Ask specifically for hygiene appropriate to ceramic and implants. Different instruments are used around implants and polished ceramic.
- Understand what they will and will not do. Most will provide check-ups, hygiene and emergency care. Many will not carry out warranty repairs on another clinic's work, which is normal — that is what your guarantee with us is for.
- Do not stop going because it feels awkward. Skipped check-ups are the single most common route to losing otherwise sound work, and the most common reason a guarantee cannot help.
What the next fifteen years look like
Well-planned ceramic and implant work is durable, but it is not maintenance-free. Here is the realistic schedule.
| When | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | Brush twice, floss the margins once, clean around implants | The margin is where crowns and veneers are lost. Nothing else you do matters as much. |
| Every night, if you grind | Wear the night guard | Prevents chipping and protects the guarantee position |
| Every 6 months | Examination and professional hygiene locally | Catches decay at margins and early gum problems while they are still small |
| Year 1 | Send us a photo at around 6 and 12 months | Lets us see how the work has settled, and how the gums have responded |
| Years 2–5 | Continue six-monthly care; report anything new promptly | You are inside the guarantee period — early reporting is what makes it useful |
| Years 5–10 | Same routine; expect occasional small adjustments | A loosened screw or a small chip is normal at this stage and usually simple to fix |
| Years 10–15 | Discuss replacement timing with a dentist | Crowns and veneers typically reach the end of their service life here; implants themselves usually continue |
Timeframes are typical and vary with oral hygiene, bite, general health and whether a guard is worn where needed.
Aftercare — answered plainly
How long should pain last after dental treatment?
After crowns or veneers, mild sensitivity to hot and cold is common for one to three weeks and should reduce steadily. After implant surgery, extractions or grafting, soreness and swelling usually peak around day two or three and then improve from day four onward. The pattern matters more than the intensity: discomfort should trend downward. Pain that increases after it had begun improving, or severe pain starting around day three to five, should be reported to a dentist rather than waited out.
Is swelling normal after implant surgery?
Yes. Swelling and sometimes bruising are expected after implant placement, extractions and grafting, typically peaking on day two or three and reducing from day four. Sleeping with your head slightly raised helps. What is not expected is swelling that increases after day four, spreads toward the eye, neck or floor of the mouth, or comes with a fever. Those need same-day medical attention — contact your local emergency or urgent care service rather than waiting for a reply from any clinic.
My bite feels high after having a crown fitted. What should I do?
Report it rather than adapting to it. If one tooth contacts before the others, the entire force of your bite lands on a single restoration, which can cause pain, jaw ache, headaches and eventually damage to the crown or the tooth beneath. Adjusting a high bite is a quick, straightforward procedure that a local dentist can usually carry out. Message us first where you can, so we can confirm the adjustment is appropriate for your case, but do not live with it for months.
How do I clean around crowns, veneers and implants?
Focus on the margin — the line where ceramic meets tooth at the gum. That is where crowns and veneers are lost, through decay in the natural tooth beneath the edge. Floss it daily, curving the floss against each side of the tooth, and use interdental brushes where there is space. Around implants, use interdental brushes, superfloss or a water flosser daily, because the gum and bone can become infected even though the implant cannot decay. Use a soft brush and non-abrasive toothpaste, and avoid whitening or charcoal pastes on ceramic — they cannot lighten it and they dull the polish permanently.
A veneer or crown has come off. What should I do?
Keep it if you can, in a small container, and do not attempt to glue it back yourself with any household or over-the-counter adhesive. Contact a dentist promptly, because a prepared tooth left uncovered is sensitive and vulnerable. A restoration that has debonded intact can sometimes be re-bonded; one that has fractured usually needs remaking. Message us with photographs at the same time so we can advise and, where it falls under your guarantee, arrange what happens next.
What if a temporary comes off before my second trip?
It happens, and it is not an emergency, but do not leave it. Temporaries are cemented to be removable, so occasional loosening is expected. A prepared tooth should not be left uncovered for long — it is sensitive and the neighbouring teeth can drift, which affects how the final restoration fits. Contact a local dentist to have it re-cemented, and tell us at the same time so we know before your next visit.
Can I whiten my teeth after getting veneers or crowns?
Whitening will not change the ceramic. If you whiten your remaining natural teeth after treatment, they lighten and the crowns or veneers stay exactly as they are, producing a visible colour step between them. This is why whitening is scheduled before shade selection rather than after. If you have already been treated and are unhappy with the overall shade, the honest answer is that changing it means remaking the ceramic — discuss it with us before starting any whitening.
Do I still need to see a dentist if my teeth are all crowned?
Yes, and arguably more so. Ceramic cannot decay, which is exactly why people stop going — and why problems are found late. What still needs monitoring is the natural tooth at each margin, the health of your gums, the bone around any implants, and the condition of the restorations themselves. Six-monthly examination and hygiene is what keeps well-fitted work lasting fifteen years rather than five, and many guarantees depend on demonstrable regular care.
My local dentist seems reluctant to treat work done abroad. What can I do?
It is usually about information rather than attitude — a dentist is being asked to maintain work they did not plan or place. Book a routine check-up and hygiene appointment rather than presenting it as a problem, and bring your documentation: treatment record, implant system and reference numbers, X-rays and guarantee document. Most practices will happily provide check-ups, hygiene and emergency care. Many will not carry out warranty repairs on another clinic's work, which is normal and is what your guarantee with us covers.
When should I contact the clinic rather than a local dentist?
Contact us for anything relating to how the work was made or whether something falls under your guarantee — a chip, a debonded restoration, a shade or shape concern, or a question about what is normal. Contact a local dentist for anything needing hands-on attention soon: a high bite, a lost temporary, an infection, or routine care. For anything urgent — spreading swelling, fever, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or uncontrolled bleeding — seek local emergency care immediately and tell us afterwards. Photographs help enormously whenever you message us.
Send a photo. We will tell you if it matters.
Your coordinator remains your contact after you fly home, in your own language. Most concerns can be assessed from clear photographs — and if it is nothing, we would far rather tell you that than have you worry for a fortnight.
LD Klinik · Çağlayan Mah., Barınaklar Blv. No:42, Muratpaşa, Antalya, Türkiye · Mon–Sat 09:00–19:30 (TRT) · For anything urgent outside these hours, contact your local emergency medical service.
Related guides: Dental implants in Turkey · Dental crowns · Veneers · How to choose a clinic
