Had dental implants put in about 10 days ago, and the stitches are starting to feel tight and itchy. Honestly, they're driving me nuts and I'm wondering if that's normal. Dentist said they'd dissolve on their own, but um... how long does that usually take? Should I wait it out or maybe call them up and see if they can take them out sooner? Curious if anyone else had this issue.
"Honestly, they're driving me nuts and I'm wondering if that's normal."
Totally get what you're feeling—my daughter had dental implants last year and went through the exact same thing. About a week and a half in, she complained constantly about the stitches itching and feeling tight. From what our dentist explained, that's actually pretty normal. Dissolvable stitches usually start breaking down around the 10-14 day mark, but sometimes it can take a bit longer depending on the type of suture material used and your body's healing process.
For us, they fully dissolved around day 15 or 16, and once they started loosening up, the itching and tightness faded pretty quickly. If you're worried or it's really uncomfortable, you could always give your dentist a quick call just to ease your mind. They might even have you come in just to double-check everything's healing nicely. But from personal experience, I'd say you're probably right at that annoying-but-normal stage...hang in there, it should ease up soon.
I went through something pretty similar myself a couple months ago. Honestly, the itching and tightness drove me crazy too—especially around day 10 or so. I remember constantly checking in the mirror, convinced something was wrong. But my dentist reassured me it was just part of the healing process. Sure enough, about two weeks in, the stitches started loosening up and things felt way better.
If it helps at all, I found rinsing gently with warm salt water helped ease the irritation a bit. Nothing dramatic, but it made things a little more bearable until they finally dissolved completely. Hang in there, sounds like you're right in that annoying-but-normal stage. It should get easier from here on out...
I totally get the anxiety you're feeling right now. I had implant surgery last year, and the stitches were honestly the worst part for me too. Kept thinking something was off because they felt so tight and itchy. Warm salt water rinses definitely helped, but I also found sipping cool chamomile tea eased the irritation a bit—plus it's budget-friendly, which is always a bonus. You're probably just hitting that peak discomfort stage...it really does ease up soon. Hang in there, you're doing great.
Had a similar situation myself a couple years back when I got implants done. Those dissolvable stitches felt like tiny guitar strings in my gums—tight, itchy, and honestly just plain annoying. The dentist kept saying they'd dissolve "soon," but their definition of soon and mine were clearly not the same thing. Salt water rinses did help a bit, like someone mentioned earlier, but I also discovered ice cream was surprisingly therapeutic (or maybe I just convinced myself of that).
Anyway, after about two weeks of waiting it out and obsessively checking them in the mirror every day, I finally caved and went back to the dentist. Turns out some stitches had dissolved unevenly, causing extra irritation. They ended up removing the stubborn ones manually, which wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined—instant relief though. So yeah, if they keep bugging you badly enough, might be worth giving your dentist a call just for peace of mind.
