When do stitches come out after dental implant surgery?
Cited to 4 sources. Reviewed 2026-08-25.
Non-dissolving stitches after implant surgery are usually removed at a follow up visit around one to two weeks after the procedure. Dissolving stitches loosen and fall out on their own over roughly one to two weeks, and MedlinePlus notes it is normal for stitches to loosen and dissolve without being removed. Removal is quick and usually painless. Ask your surgeon which type you have, because if they are dissolving there may be no removal appointment at all.
- Non-dissolving stitch removal
- Usually 7 to 14 days
- Dissolving stitches
- Loosen and go on their own
- Removal discomfort
- Usually minimal, no numbing needed
- A stitch coming out early
- Common, call if the site gapes open
What to expect, step by step
Stitches tight and holding the gum closed. They may feel scratchy against the cheek or tongue.
What to do: Do not touch or pull them. No hard rinsing or spitting on day 1. Soft cool food, and chew on the other side.
Swelling falling. Stitches may start to loosen, and dissolving ones begin breaking down.
What to do: Gentle warm salt water rinses after meals. Brush the neighbouring teeth carefully, keeping the brush off the stitches.
The usual removal window for non-dissolving stitches, often at the same visit where the surgeon checks the site.
What to do: Attend the appointment even if you feel fine, since it is also the healing check. Removal takes a couple of minutes.
Slight tenderness for a day or so. The gum surface should be closed.
What to do: Resume brushing over the area gently as your surgeon directs, and go back to normal hygiene around the site.
Two kinds of stitch, two different plans
Resorbable (dissolving) sutures break down in the mouth over roughly one to two weeks, sometimes faster. They loosen, fray, and eventually fall out or are swallowed, which is harmless. MedlinePlus describes stitches after dental extraction as normally loosening and dissolving on their own.
Non-resorbable sutures, often a smooth material used where a precise closure matters, stay put until removed. Surgeons often choose these for implant and graft sites specifically because the closure needs to hold reliably while the tissue seals.
Many surgeons use both in the same site. The important thing is that you know what you have, so ask at the end of the appointment or call the practice.
What removal is actually like
It is quick. The area is checked, the knot is lifted with tweezers, the thread is snipped and drawn out. Most people describe a light tug rather than pain, and local anaesthetic is not normally needed.
The visit is worth attending even if the stitches have already fallen out, because it is also when your surgeon checks that the site has closed properly, that a healing cap is clean and stable, and that there is no early sign of infection.
If a stitch comes out early
It happens, usually from brushing, chewing, or worrying at it with the tongue. Whether it matters depends on what the gum does next.
- If the gum edges are still together and the site looks closed: usually fine, but tell the practice
- If the site gapes open, or you can now see the implant, cover screw or graft membrane: call the same day
- If bleeding restarts: firm gauze pressure for 20 to 30 minutes, and call if it does not stop
- Do not try to cut, pull or retie a stitch yourself
- Keep the area clean and gentle, and stop touching it
- If a stitch is long and irritating your cheek, call rather than trimming it yourself
Care while the stitches are in
The aim is to keep the site clean without disturbing the closure. MedlinePlus guidance after dental surgery is to brush your other teeth gently from the day after, stay away from the surgical area for about the first three days, and start gentle rinsing around day three.
Beyond that: soft food, chew on the other side, no straws, no smoking, no alcohol based mouthwash on a fresh surgical site, and no pulling your lip up repeatedly to inspect the stitches, which is one of the more common ways people tear their own closure.
Call your dentist or oral surgeon if
- The site opening up so the implant, cover screw, or graft material becomes visible
- Bleeding that restarts and does not stop with 20 to 30 minutes of firm gauze pressure
- Pain or swelling increasing after day 3
- Pus, a persistent bad taste, or a bad smell at the site
- Fever or chills
- Stitches that are still fully in place after three weeks when you were told they would dissolve
- Redness spreading outward from the surgical site
Related questions
Does stitch removal hurt?
Usually not. Most people feel a light tug for each stitch and nothing more. If the area is still very tender, tell the person removing them, since they can work more gently or leave a stitch for a few more days.
I swallowed a stitch. Is that a problem?
No. Swallowing a small dissolving suture is harmless and common. What matters is whether the gum underneath has stayed closed, so check the site and let the practice know if it looks open.
Why do I have no removal appointment?
Almost certainly because you were given dissolving stitches. Confirm with the practice, and still ask for a healing check at around two weeks if your surgeon did not schedule one, especially if you had a graft.
Sources
- Tooth extraction (MedlinePlus (NIH))
- Dental implant surgery (Mayo Clinic)
- Dental Implants (Cleveland Clinic)
- Dental Implant Procedures (American Academy of Periodontology)
Reviewed against the sources above on 2026-08-25. General information only, not dental advice. Your own provider's aftercare instructions come first.
Keep reading
The first 48 hours are about protecting the clot and controlling swelling. Bite on gauze as directed, use cold compresses in 20 minute cycles, keep your head elevated, eat soft cool food, and take pain medication on the schedule you were given rather than waiting for pain. Do not rinse, spit, use a straw, smoke or exercise hard. Swelling will peak at the end of this window, and that is expected rather than a problem.
Brush your other teeth gently the day after surgery but keep the brush off the implant site for about the first three days, then start cleaning it gently. Warm salt water rinses from around day three help, and many surgeons prescribe a chlorhexidine rinse for the first week or two. Once healed, an implant needs the same daily brushing and flossing as a natural tooth, because plaque around implants causes peri-implant disease.
Dental implant healing runs in three stages. Soft tissue heals over the first 1 to 2 weeks, osseointegration (bone fusing to the implant) takes roughly 3 to 6 months and can run as long as 9 months, and then the abutment and final crown are fitted over another few weeks. If you needed a bone graft or sinus lift first, add several more months before the implant is even placed.
The single most useful early sign is direction of travel. Normal implant healing improves every day after about day three, so pain or swelling that increases after day three, or returns after settling, is the earliest warning. Add pus, a persistent bad taste or smell, fever, swollen neck glands, or gum that is red and bleeding around the implant. Later on, bleeding when you brush around the implant is the earliest sign of peri-implant disease. Call the same day.