Treatment Considerations and Risks
At Dr Jaclyn Wong’s practice, we believe patients should have access to clear and balanced information when considering dental, surgical, and facial aesthetic treatments. Every procedure involves its own considerations, limitations, risks, healing responses, and ongoing maintenance requirements. Understanding these factors is an important part of informed decision-making and treatment planning.
The information provided on this page is general in nature and is intended as an educational guide only. It does not replace a personalised consultation, clinical examination, or professional advice from a registered healthcare practitioner.
Suitability for treatment can only be determined following an individual assessment, where factors such as medical history, dental and facial anatomy, oral health, lifestyle factors, existing conditions, and treatment goals are carefully evaluated.
As every patient is different, treatment experiences, healing times, outcomes, and longevity of results may vary between individuals. In some cases, additional procedures, ongoing maintenance, or alternative treatment options may be recommended as part of comprehensive care.
Eligibility Criteria
- Dental implants are used to replace one or more missing teeth and may be suitable for patients with healthy gums and sufficient jawbone support.
- Treatment suitability depends on factors such as bone quantity and quality, gum health, medical history, smoking habits, oral hygiene, and any existing dental conditions.
- Since smoking habits directly affect the surgical healing, success and longevity of the results achieved, patients are either requested to quit smoking or fill a consent form prior to undergoing the treatment.
- Some patients may require preliminary treatment such as tooth extraction, gum disease management, bone grafting, or PRF grafting before implant placement can proceed.
- While many implant cases can be managed in-house, some complex cases may require collaborative treatment planning or referral to other dental specialists.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Dental implant treatment is generally completed over several stages and may require healing periods between procedures. Depending on the treatment plan, patients may undergo tooth extraction, bone grafting, implant placement, and placement of temporary or final restorations.
- Following implant surgery, patients may experience swelling and bruising around the gums or face, mild to moderate discomfort, minor bleeding, or temporary difficulty chewing.
- Healing times vary between individuals and depend on the complexity of the procedure and the body’s healing response. Regular review appointments are required to monitor healing and implant integration.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- As with any surgical procedure, dental implant treatment carries risks and complications may occur. Potential risks include infection around the implant site, implant failure or lack of integration with the bone, bone loss around the implant, gum inflammation or peri-implant disease, or delayed healing.
- Some patients may experience nerve disturbance causing temporary or permanent altered sensation, sinus complications for upper jaw implants or loosening, fracture, or wear of implant components. In such cases, you need to visit the clinic urgently.
- Patients are advised to maintain excellent oral hygiene, attend regular professional maintenance appointments, and follow all post-operative instructions carefully.
- Smoking, teeth grinding, poor oral hygiene, and uncontrolled medical conditions may negatively affect implant success, longevity and healing outcomes.
- Although dental implants are designed as a long-term tooth replacement option, additional maintenance, repairs, or replacement of components may be required over time.
Expected Longevity
- The longevity and stability of dental implants vary between individuals and cannot be guaranteed.
- Long-term outcomes depend on factors such as oral hygiene practices, gum and bone health, smoking or vaping habits, general health conditions, Bite forces and teeth grinding and compliance with maintenance appointments.
- Ongoing professional care and long-term maintenance are important to support implant health and function.
Eligibility Criteria
- Wisdom tooth extraction may be recommended when wisdom teeth are impacted, partially erupted, infected, painful, difficult to clean, damaging neighbouring teeth, or associated with cysts, gum disease, or decay.
- Assessment typically includes a clinical examination and dental imaging to evaluate tooth position and angulation, proximity to nerves or sinus structures, existing infection or inflammation and overall oral health and medical history
- Some patients with complex surgical needs or higher medical risks may require collaborative treatment planning or referral.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Wisdom tooth extraction may be performed under local anaesthetic, sedation, or general anaesthetic depending on the complexity of the procedure and patient requirements.
- Following treatment, patients may experience swelling around the cheeks or jaw, mild to moderate discomfort, bruising, limited mouth opening, minor bleeding, temporary difficulty chewing or temporary dietary restrictions.
- These symptoms are generally temporary and improve gradually during the healing period. Recovery experiences vary depending on the complexity of the extraction and individual healing response.
- Patients are advised to follow all post-operative instructions, maintain good oral hygiene, avoid smoking and vigorous rinsing during early healing and attend follow-up appointments if required
Risks and Ongoing Care
- A condition known as dry socket may occur in some cases if the blood clot at the extraction site is disrupted, leading to pain and an unpleasant taste. Smoking is a known risk factor. Post-operative bleeding is usually minimal but may be more likely in patients taking blood-thinning medications.
- Infection is uncommon but may occur and is managed with appropriate care. There is also a risk of nerve disturbance, particularly with lower wisdom teeth, which may result in temporary numbness or altered sensation in the lip, chin, or tongue. In rare cases, this may be prolonged or permanent.
- Local anaesthetic injections and sedation or general anaesthetic may be associated with temporary side effects such as nausea, dizziness, or fatigue.
- Following removal of deeper teeth, the jaw may be temporarily weakened during healing. In upper wisdom teeth, a small opening between the mouth and sinus may occasionally occur, which usually heals with appropriate care.
- Patients are provided with post-operative instructions covering oral hygiene, diet, and activity. Following these instructions and attending review appointments where advised can help support healing and reduce the risk of complications.
Expected Longevity
- Removal of problematic wisdom teeth may help reduce the risk of future infection, pain, damage to adjacent teeth, or ongoing gum problems.
- Long-term oral health outcomes continue to depend on regular dental check-ups, good oral hygiene practices, professional cleaning and maintenance, and early management of future dental concerns.
- The long-term stability of surrounding teeth and oral health varies between individuals and cannot be guaranteed.
Eligibility Criteria
- All-on-4® treatment is designed for patients with multiple missing, failing, or heavily damaged teeth who may be seeking a full-arch tooth replacement option.
- Treatment suitability depends on factors such as Bone quantity and quality, gum health, existing dental disease, medical history and medications, smoking habits, teeth grinding or clenching, and oral hygiene practices.
- Since smoking habits directly affect the surgical healing, success and longevity of the results achieved, patients are either requested to quit smoking or fill a consent form prior to undergoing the treatment.
- Some patients may require preliminary procedures such as extractions, bone grafting, or treatment of gum disease before implant placement.
- While many All-on-4® cases are managed in-house, some complex cases may require collaborative treatment planning or referral.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- All-on-4® treatment is generally completed in multiple stages and may involve removal of remaining teeth, placement of dental implants, temporary fixed teeth during healing or final prosthetic teeth after implant integration.
- Following All-on-4 treatment, patients should arrange appropriate transport and support after surgery, particularly if sedation or general anaesthetic is used. Driving immediately after the procedure is not recommended.
- Pain levels vary between individuals and are usually managed with prescribed medication. A feeling of pressure or tightness around the new teeth may occur and is typically temporary, although minor adjustments may sometimes be required after healing.
- Swelling is common and usually peaks within the first 48 hours before gradually settling. Bruising and minor bleeding or oozing from the surgical sites may also occur, especially in the early stages of recovery.
- Some patients may experience temporary numbness or altered sensation in the lips, chin, jaw, or facial areas. This generally improves over time but may take several weeks or longer in some cases.
- Patients are provided with post-operative instructions on oral hygiene, diet, and care. Following these instructions and attending review appointments is important to support healing and monitor progress.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Patients may experience issues such as implant failure, infection, gum inflammation around implants, bone loss, fracture or loosening of prosthetic components, nerve disturbance, sinus-related complications, and concerns related to speech or bite adjustment. In some cases, future repairs, adjustments, or maintenance procedures may be required.
- Patients are provided with guidance on daily cleaning and oral hygiene practices, dietary considerations, and proper care of their prosthesis or appliances. Instructions are also given on long-term maintenance requirements and the appropriate steps to take if any components become damaged, loose, or uncomfortable.
- Factors such as smoking, poor oral hygiene, uncontrolled medical conditions, and teeth grinding or clenching may increase the risk of complications and can affect healing and long-term outcomes.
- While an estimated treatment timeline is discussed at the beginning of care, the overall duration of treatment may vary. In some cases, treatment may take longer than initially anticipated depending on individual healing response and progress.
Expected Longevity
- All-on-4® restorations may function for many years when appropriately maintained; however, longevity and stability vary between individuals and cannot be guaranteed.
- Long-term outcomes depend on factors such as oral hygiene and maintenance, bone and gum health, smoking habits, medical conditions, bite forces and grinding habits and attendance at ongoing professional maintenance appointments
- Over time, adjustments, repairs, or replacement of prosthetic components may become necessary.
Eligibility Criteria
- PRF treatments can be considered for patients undergoing implant procedures, oral surgery, gum treatments, or selected facial procedures where healing support is clinically appropriate.
- Because PRF is derived from the patient’s own blood, suitability depends on overall health, blood quality, medications, and the patient’s ability to undergo blood collection procedures.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Patients may experience mild swelling, bruising, tenderness, or discomfort around the treatment site or blood collection area. Healing responses vary significantly between individuals and depend on the procedure performed in conjunction with PRF treatment.
- Follow-up appointments may be required to monitor healing and tissue response.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Potential risks include bruising, bleeding, infection, discomfort, incomplete tissue response, or variable regenerative outcomes. PRF treatments are adjunctive procedures and may not eliminate the need for additional treatment.
- Good oral hygiene, compliance with postoperative instructions, and ongoing maintenance are important to support healing outcomes.
Expected Longevity
- Results vary depending on the procedure performed, patient healing capacity, oral health, and ongoing maintenance.
- PRF supports healing processes but does not prevent future ageing, disease progression, or tissue changes.
Eligibility Criteria
- Pre-prosthetic surgery is recommended for patients requiring modification of bone or soft tissue before dentures or prosthetic treatment can be fitted appropriately.
- Suitability depends on oral anatomy, existing bone structure, medical history, and prosthetic treatment goals.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Patients may experience swelling, bruising, discomfort, bleeding, or temporary difficulty wearing prostheses during healing. Healing times vary depending on the extent of surgery and individual healing response.
- Soft tissue and bone remodelling may continue for several months following surgery.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Potential risks include infection, bleeding, delayed healing, discomfort, changes in sensation, bone irregularities, or ongoing prosthetic adjustment requirements.
- Patients may require future denture relines, adjustments, or replacement as oral tissues naturally change over time.
Expected Longevity
- Changes in bone and gum tissues continue throughout life, particularly in patients missing teeth.
- Prosthetic fit and comfort may change over time, requiring ongoing reviews and maintenance.
Eligibility Criteria
- Emergency oral surgery is required for patients experiencing facial trauma, jaw fractures, severe dental infections, impacted teeth, uncontrolled bleeding, or complications following dental procedures.
- Treatment urgency, medical history, infection severity, and overall patient health are important considerations.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Patients may experience pain, swelling, bruising, bleeding, limited jaw opening, facial tenderness, fatigue, or temporary numbness depending on the complexity of the procedure.
- Recovery experiences vary significantly depending on the extent of infection, trauma, or surgery involved.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Risks may include infection spread, nerve injury, delayed healing, ongoing swelling, jaw stiffness, bleeding, scarring, or the need for additional procedures.
- Patients may require ongoing reviews, imaging, medications, or staged treatment following emergency surgery.
Expected Longevity
- Long-term outcomes depend on the underlying condition, healing response, oral hygiene, and compliance with follow-up care recommendations.
Eligibility Criteria
- These treatments are suitable for patients with gum recession, exposed tooth roots, sensitivity, or localised gum defects.
- Suitability depends on gum thickness, oral hygiene, smoking status, bite forces, gum disease history, and the severity of recession.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Following treatment, patients may experience swelling, bruising, tenderness, gum tightness, or temporary sensitivity. Healing varies depending on the surgical technique used and individual tissue response.
- Patients are often required to modify brushing habits and avoid trauma to the area during healing.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Potential risks include incomplete root coverage, relapse of recession, infection, bleeding, sensitivity, scarring, or variable tissue healing outcomes.
- Long-term success depends heavily on oral hygiene, brushing technique, gum health maintenance, and management of contributing factors such as clenching or gum trauma.
Expected Longevity
- Results vary between patients and may change over time due to ageing, oral hygiene practices, gum disease, smoking, or ongoing trauma to the tissues.
Eligibility Criteria
- Patients are generally suitable for treatment if they are in good overall health and do not have uncontrolled medical conditions that may affect healing or increase surgical risk.
- Patients must have realistic expectations about what the treatment can achieve, including limitations, recovery time, and the need for possible maintenance treatments.
- Patients must not have active infections in the treatment area, as this can increase the risk of complications and affect healing outcomes.
- Patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding are generally not suitable for most injectable, regenerative, and aesthetic procedures due to safety considerations.
- Patients with medical conditions such as diabetes, immune disorders, or bleeding disorders may require additional medical clearance before treatment is performed.
- Patients taking blood-thinning medications may require modified treatment planning due to increased risk of bleeding and bruising.
- A full clinical examination, medical history review, and where required imaging is essential before determining final eligibility for any treatment.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Most patients will experience some level of swelling after treatment, which may range from mild to significant depending on the type and complexity of the procedure performed.
- Bruising, redness, and tenderness are common after injectable, surgical, and regenerative treatments and typically improve gradually over several days.
- Patients may experience temporary tightness, pressure, or a pulling sensation in the treated area, particularly after thread lifting or PRF-based procedures.
- Some treatments may result in temporary lumpiness or firmness under the skin, which usually resolves as healing progresses.
- Injectable treatments may not produce immediate visible results, as swelling can initially mask the final outcome.
- PRF and regenerative treatments typically show gradual improvement over days to weeks as the body’s natural healing response progresses.
- Fat dissolving and carboxytherapy treatments often work progressively, with visible changes developing over multiple weeks and sessions.
- Patients are usually able to return to light daily activities shortly after treatment, depending on the procedure performed.
- Full results may take anywhere from a few days to several months depending on the treatment type and individual healing response.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- All medical, dental, and aesthetic treatments carry potential risks, even when performed with appropriate care and technique.
- Common risks include swelling, bruising, pain, tenderness, and temporary discomfort in the treated area.
- There is a risk of infection following any injectable or surgical procedure, although this is uncommon when post-care instructions are followed correctly.
- Some patients may experience temporary or, in rare cases, prolonged numbness or altered sensation depending on the area treated.
- Asymmetry or uneven results may occur, particularly in facial aesthetic treatments, and may require additional correction.
- Some treatments may result in lumpiness, firmness, or contour irregularities that may take time to settle or may require further intervention.
- Injectable treatments carry a rare but serious risk of vascular complications, which require immediate medical attention if suspected.
- Thread lifting procedures may carry risks such as thread visibility, dimpling, migration, or temporary restriction of facial movement.
- Fat dissolving treatments may result in uneven fat reduction or prolonged swelling in some cases.
- PRF and regenerative treatments may show variable biological response, meaning results can differ significantly between individuals.
- Ongoing care is essential for all treatments, and patients are required to attend review appointments to monitor healing and outcomes.
- Maintenance treatments may be necessary for long-term results, especially for injectable and regenerative procedures.
- Proper skincare, and adherence to post-treatment instructions significantly improve treatment outcomes.
Post-Treatment Ongoing Care Instructions
For the first 24 hours after treatment, patients should avoid:
- Touching, rubbing, or massaging the treated area, as this may affect product placement and healing outcomes.
- Applying makeup over injection or treated sites until advised it is safe to do so.
- Using facial cleansing products other than gentle water-based cleansing, where applicable.
- Strenuous exercise, as increased blood flow may worsen swelling or bruising.
- Alcohol consumption, as this may increase bruising and delay healing.
- Lying flat immediately after treatment, generally for 4–5 hours depending on the procedure performed.
- Air travel in selected injectable cases, where pressure changes may affect swelling or product stability.
For 1–2 weeks after treatment, patients should avoid:
- Additional facial treatments such as laser therapy, chemical peels, microneedling, facials, or microdermabrasion, as these may interfere with healing.
- Heat exposure including saunas, steam rooms, or excessive sun exposure, as this can increase swelling and inflammation.
- Aggressive facial manipulation or massage of the treated area.
- Anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen unless specifically advised by the treating clinician.
- Overuse of active skincare ingredients such as AHAs, BHAs, and retinoids in treated areas, particularly after PRF or regenerative treatments.
Expected Longevity of Results
- The longevity of results varies depending on the type of treatment, individual biology, lifestyle factors, and ongoing maintenance care.
- Injectable wrinkle treatments provide temporary muscle relaxation, and results typically require repeat treatments to maintain effect over time.
- Dermal augmenters (fillers) gradually break down in the body over time, and maintenance treatments are required to sustain volume and contour.
- PRF and regenerative treatments support natural healing and tissue improvement but do not provide permanent structural change, meaning repeat treatments may be required.
- Fat dissolving treatments can provide permanent reduction of targeted fat cells once destroyed; however, overall facial balance may still change with ageing and weight fluctuations.
- Thread lifting results are temporary, although collagen stimulation may continue for several months after treatment before gradually diminishing over time.
- Carboxytherapy results are progressive and often require multiple sessions, with maintenance treatments needed depending on the clinical indication.
- No cosmetic or regenerative treatment can permanently stop the natural ageing process or guarantee lifelong results.
- Long-term outcomes depend heavily on lifestyle habits such as smoking, sun exposure, diet, skincare, and adherence to maintenance visits..
Eligibility Criteria
- These treatments are suitable for patients experiencing jaw clenching, bruxism, muscle tension, headaches associated with jaw overactivity, or enlarged masseter muscles.
- Suitability depends on muscle anatomy, symptoms, medical history, and treatment goals.
What to Expect After Treatment Begins
- Patients may experience mild tenderness, bruising, swelling, or tightness around the injection area. Changes in muscle activity and jaw appearance develop gradually over time.
- Some patients may temporarily notice changes in chewing sensation or jaw fatigue during the adjustment period.
Risks and Ongoing Care
- Potential risks include asymmetry, temporary weakness of nearby muscles, chewing discomfort, bruising, swelling, headache, or dissatisfaction with cosmetic changes.
- Repeat treatments are generally required to maintain results.
Expected Longevity
- Results are temporary and vary between individuals depending on muscle strength, metabolism, and lifestyle factors such as ongoing clenching or grinding habits.