Postoperative Instructions After Oral Surgery

Here Are Some Guidelines To Help Promote Healing And Prevent Complications:

1. While your mouth is numb, be careful not to bite your cheek, lip, or tongue.
2. If your surgeon has left a gauze pack on the surgery site, leave it in for 30-45 minutes. Keep firm pressure on the site, but do not chew on the packing.
3. If you have bleeding in the surgery site, then place gauze (or a regular tea bag) over the surgery site. Apply firm pressure for one hour, without talking/speaking/chewing. After a second attempt of repeating this, if the bleeding hasn’t stopped, please contact the office immediately.
4. Starting the day after surgery, you can either use salt water rinses. Rinse three times a day, after every meal. Do not use any other mouthwash (unless prescribed).
5. After the procedure, drink lots of fluids and keep hydrated, especially if you had fastedyou’re your surgery. Eat soft nutritional foods such as eggs, potatoes, yogurts, protein/supplemental shakes. Avoid alcoholic and carbonated beverages. Advance your diet back to normal after a week, as you can tolerate it, unless your surgeon wants to keep you on a different diet regimen. Regardless, avoid hard foods and candies for at least 6 weeks after your procedure.
6. If a bone graft, implant, or healing cap was placed, then remain on a soft no-chew diet for six weeks. Do not chew on the surgery site, as chewing can cause loosening of the bone, implant, and/or healing cap and cause the surgery to fail.
7. Avoid any foods or drinks that are too hot or too cold in the next 72 hours.
8. Apply ice for 20 minutes at a time (NOT continuous) to the area of the face/cheek, where the procedure was performed. 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. This could help reduce swelling. A “bag of frozen peas” can work very well as an ice pack. Ice should be placed for up to 72 hours after surgery. Then, switch to warm-moist heat.
9. No smoking or drinking through a straw.
10. Keep your head elevated and do not sleep flat for the next week.
11. Refrain from aggressive/strenuous physical activity for the next week.
12. Do not brush or manipulate the tissues around surgery sites.Do keep good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing. Use a Q-tip to gently clean the surgery site, if necessary.
13. If stitches/sutures were placed, they are most likely resorbable and will fall out on their own in a week or so; unless, you were told otherwise.
14. Take medication, as prescribed. Refer to the medicine bottle for correct dosage. If the pain medication is not working, do not double/increase the dosage.
    Instead, contact the office. If you were prescribed antibiotics, take them until you finish. If you develop diarrhea, let your oral surgeon know immediately.