PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.
Sometimes the after-effects of oral surgery are quite minimal, so not all of these instructions may apply. Common sense will often tell you what you should do. However, when in doubt, follow these guidelines or call our office for more information.
First Hour: Bite down gently but firmly on the gauze packages. Some bleeding may happen for several hours or more. Everyone is different.
Exercise Care: DO NOT disturb the tooth removal area today. Do NOT rinse vigorously or poke at the area with anything. DO NOT SMOKE OR USE STRAWS FOR 3 DAYS, because you will not heal as fast and may have problems, such as dry socket.
Oozing: Bleeding and oozing off and on is normal. Placing fresh gauze over the tooth removal area and biting down firmly for one hour may help this.
Steady Bleeding: Bleeding should never be severe. If it is, it means that you are clenching the gauze between your teeth rather than putting pressure on the extraction site. Try to move the gauze first. If the bleeding continues or becomes heavy, you may substitute a tea bag soaked in hot water, squeezed dry and wrapped in gauze for one hour. If the bleeding continues, call our office.
Swelling: Often, there is some swelling with a tooth extraction. You can help this by using a cold pack or ice bag wrapped in a towel and applied to the face. This should be done for 10 minutes, and then a 10 min. break, and repeat.
Nausea: Try drinking clear fluids like soup broth, sips of water, or ginger ale/diet soda.
Diet: Eat any food that you feel comfortable swallowing. The temperature should not be too hot. Have creamed soups, puddings, yogurt, milk shakes, or protein/meal replacement shakes such as Carnation instant breakfast or Slimfast. Avoid foods like nuts, sunflower seeds and popcorn that may get stuck in the tooth socket area. Over the next several days, you can add solid foods, as you are comfortable. It is important not to skip meals. If you eat regularly you will feel better, gain strength, have less pain and heal faster. If you are diabetic, keep you normal eating habits.
Sharp Edges: If you feel sharp edges in the tooth area with your tongue, it is probably the bony walls that supported the extracted tooth. Occasionally small slivers of bone may work themselves out during the first week or two after you have a tooth removed. They are NOT pieces of teeth.
Mouth rinse: Do NOT rinse or spit for 24 hours or until the bleeding stops. Keeping your mouth clean after surgery is important. Use ΒΌ teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water and gently rinse. Do this SLOWLY and take your time. You may do this two or three time a day but you DO NOT want to remove the blood clot on top of the tooth. Rinse and spit without holding the salt water in your mouth.
Brushing: Begin your normal brushing after surgery, except over the extraction site. Use your finger or a soft toothbrush & just be gentle.
Pain: Unfortunately, most tooth removals have some pain. Most of the pain is usually during the first 6 hours after the tooth removal. We may give you a prescription pain medication, or use your usual pain relieving medication such as Naproxin sodium (Aleve) 2 tabs 3x daily for a couple of days.
