Not painful, just kinda distracting.
Totally get what you mean about the “empty” feeling. After my first implant, I kept poking at that spot with my tongue, half-expecting something to be there. The numbness and tingling faded after a few days for me, but that exposed gum sensation lingered. It’s weird how your mouth just feels off-balance for a bit. Hang in there—once things settle, it starts to feel normal again.
Yeah, I remember that odd “hollow” sensation really well—almost like the balance of my bite was off for a while. For me, the weirdest part was how sensitive the gum felt to temperature changes, even just drinking water. Took about a week for things to mellow out. It’s interesting how your mouth adapts, but those first few days are definitely distracting. I wouldn’t call it pain either, just... strange.
That’s exactly how my kid described it after his implant stitches came out—he kept saying it felt “empty” or like something was missing when he bit down. He also complained about cold water feeling almost sharp, which surprised me since his pain tolerance is usually pretty high. It took him maybe five or six days before eating and drinking felt normal again. I guess kids bounce back fast, but those first couple of afternoons, he was super cautious. It’s wild how your mouth can feel so off-kilter from such a small change.
