After Surgery Instructions

Care of the mouth following oral surgery plays an important role in proper healing. Please remember that each person will respond differently and similar procedures on one side of the mouth may vary greatly from the other side with regard to post-operative pain, swelling, bleeding, and healing time. Please consider these instructions as a general guide to recovery.

• Bleeding: Expect minor oozing for up to 24hrs after surgery. If bleeding continues, apply strong pressure with a slightly damp gauze/napkin/ tea bag for approximately 20-30 minutes. If heavy bleeding continues, contact the office immediately. The two most common errors with stopping oozing are:
  1. Not applying the gauze directly over the extraction socket (eg. With wisdom teeth extractions – all the way behind the last teeth)
  2. Not biting down firmly for 20-30 minutes and avoiding moving the jaw or talking
• Swelling: Swelling and/or pain is normal and often peaks 2-3 days after surgery before starting to subside. To reduce swelling you can place an ice pack on the cheeks adjacent the surgical site for approximately 12 hours after surgery. Alternate the pack on and off every 15 minutes while awake.
• Medications: Take your prescriptions as instructed. If you were not given prescriptions, or have run out and are healthy you may take the following:
  1. Ibuprofen (Advil / Motrin) over the counter tablets are typically 200mg.
     • Take 600-800mg of Ibuprofen every 6 hours.
     • Ask your doctor if you have kidney problems or have been instructed not to take NSAIDS
  2. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) over the counter tablets are typically 325mg or 500mg (extra strength) Ask your doctor first if you have liver disease.
     • Take 1000mg every 8 hours (or 500mg every 4 hours). (max 4000mg in 24 hours)

Note: You may take Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen at the same time for added pain control without the risks of sedating or habit forming side effects of narcotic pain medications because they are metabolized differently.

• Fluids: Please drink plenty of fluids over the next few days. Please avoid using a straw.
• Diet: Be sure to stick with a soft diet for the next 2-3 days. DO NOT chew anything that you cannot smash with the back of a fork. DO NOT eat anything with hard and/or sharp edges that might injure sore gums, such as chips, or crusty bread. Please DO NOT eat hard foods or foods with small seeds such as raw carrots, raspberries, popcorn or nuts.
• Activity: Rest on the day of surgery. Avoid running or participating in strenuous activity for 2-3 days.
• Brushing/ Rinsing: Please avoid brushing or flossing the surgical site. Continue brushing the rest of your teeth as normal. NO VIGOROUS RINSING OR SPITTING FOR THE FIRST 24HRS. During the day, you can gently rinse with warm salt water (1/4 tsp to 8 oz of water) as many times as needed. If given a prescription mouthwash, Peridex/chlorhexidine, gently rinse and spit according to the bottle.
• IF GIVEN an irrigating syringe/monoject syringe wait until 5 days after surgery to gently flush the extraction site with Peridex or Salty water to flush away any trapped food debris. Some soreness is normal the first few times you irrigate the socket.
• AVOID: Smoking and other tobacco products for approximately 10 days. Smoking will delay the healing process and cause “dry socket”. If implants are placed it may cause implant failure. Avoid alcoholic beverages while you are taking narcotic pain medication if they were prescribed.
• Sutures: Sometimes dissolving sutures/ stitches are placed to aid healing that will dissolve in a few days on their own. Sometimes sutures become loose which is not a cause for alarm. Simply trim or remove and discard it.