Cold liquids and very soft food. Ice over the cheeks in 20-minute intervals. Head elevated when lying down. No straws.
Aftercare
The bridge does not become a tooth. It becomes a long-running arrangement.
An All-on-5 reconstruction has a maintenance schedule for as long as you have it. Honour the schedule and the implants outlast most other things in your life. Skip it and the warranty quietly becomes paperwork.
Clinically reviewed · Last reviewed 24 May 2026 · Editorial & review
The first 48 hours
Day-zero is for healing. Not for proving the bridge works.
Prescribed pain control on schedule, not on demand. Avoid vigorous rinsing or spitting — this can disturb the sutures and clots around the implants.
Gentle warm-salt-water rinses after eating. Soft diet continues. Avoid alcohol and tobacco — both slow soft-tissue healing.
Sutures dissolve or are removed. First professional hygiene around the provisional bridge. Bite is checked. Soft diet may begin to widen.
The daily routine
Three tools. Two minutes, twice a day.
T1
Soft brush, angled
Soft-bristled brush angled at 45° to the bridge margin. The goal is to clean where the bridge meets the gum — not to scrub the chewing surface harder.
Twice daily2 min
T2
Water flosser
Daily, on a medium setting, aimed under the bridge from the cheek side and the tongue side. The single most useful tool for full-arch maintenance.
Daily~90 sec
T3
Interdental brushes
Shaped for the spaces between the five implant emergence points. Sized to the gaps your clinician identifies — usually two to three sizes for one mouth.
DailyAs fitted
The clinical schedule
Six months. One year. Forever.
Visit 01
48-hour review
In-person check. Sutures, soft-tissue response, provisional fit, pain management adjusted.
Day 2
Visit 02
Two-week review
Suture removal if not dissolved. Bite check. First professional hygiene around the bridge.
Week 2
Visit 03
Six-month hygiene
Professional cleaning under and around the bridge using implant-safe instruments. Bite re-checked.
Every 6 mo
Visit 04
Yearly bridge service
Bridge unscrewed by the clinician. Abutments cleaned. Peri-implant tissues assessed. Radiographs for record.
Yearly
Visit 05
Tooth-layer service
Year 5–7 for porcelain, year 8–10 for zirconia, year 12–15 for PMMA. Scheduled, not surprise.
By material
What to do if
Eight small problems — and which one needs the phone tonight.
01
Bridge feels "off" on biting. Schedule a bite review. Not urgent. Two weeks is fine.
02
Small chip in a non-aesthetic zone. Note it, send a photo. Next routine visit will address it.
03
Bleeding from gums around the bridge. Normal at first, persistent if hygiene tools are being skipped. Mention at the next hygiene visit.
04
Feeling the bridge "click." A screw may be loose. Not an emergency, but book within the week.
05
Persistent bad taste near a specific implant. Sign of an infection forming. Book within 48 hours.
06
Bridge mobility you can feel. The bridge should never move under finger pressure. Same-week appointment.
07
Swelling, redness, fever. Phone the clinic the same day. This is the call to make.
08
Trauma to the face / impact event. Same-day urgent care. Photographs and X-rays will be requested.
Not an emergency service. If you have facial swelling, trauma, fever or uncontrolled pain, contact local emergency services or the nearest dental emergency clinic before you call us.
Sources & further reading
- American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID). Full-arch implant reconstruction — patient resources. aaid.com
- American Dental Association (ADA). Dental implants — MouthHealthy patient guide. mouthhealthy.org
- International Team for Implantology (ITI). Consensus on full-arch fixed prostheses and immediate loading protocols. iti.org
- Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms. Definitions of cantilever, multi-unit abutment, screw-retained prosthesis, osseointegration. The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.
- European Association for Osseointegration (EAO). Position papers on peri-implant maintenance and long-term success criteria. eao.org
- National Library of Medicine (PubMed). Searchable index of peer-reviewed implant-dentistry literature. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov