Dental implant surgeon said that post operative care after 2 hours of implants can include over the counter tylenol (acetaminophen) and only if it is needed. really?

On many occasions: The pain is easily controlled with over the counter analgesics such as Tylenol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen. It is not common to prescribe narcotic analgesic if surgical procedure goes well, fast and without any complications.

Pain medication: It's amazing the wide range of pain threshold that different individuals have. Some take nothing, some need only a mild OTC pain medication, some request moderate prescriptions drugs and a very few require a strong prescription drug. It is always better to start with the least medication required and take more only if necessary.

It depends: Many patients just require over the counter analgesics, a cocktail of ibuprofen 600 mg /Tylenol 500 mg may be as effective as a Tylenol with codeine. I recommend 1 ibuprofen 600/800 mg for a few days to reduce inflammation- pain and Add 1 or 2 Tylenol 500mg if needed. In other cases I may give 2 or 3 with codeine to take at bed time. Extendive procedures may require different regiments.

Absolutely: The need for pain meds vary widely among patients. I've placed implants for close to 30 years and most patients go to work and continue with their normal routine within 24 hours. See how things go following the surgery... you probably will be pleasantly surprised at how little post operative pain you have.