It is extremely important that you take the antibiotic and pain medication given to you after your oral surgery. The antibiotic prevents infection of the wound that was created during your oral surgery and an infection free wound is much more comfortable than one that is infected. The pain medication must be taken BEFORE the numbness wears off since it works better than if you take it after you have discomfort. If you're not hurting after the first pain pill then you can take your pain medication as you wish but you must take the antibiotic for the entire week after your oral surgery. For extra pain relief you can alternate taking your prescription pain medication with 400 milligrams of Motrin or Advil every four to six hours.
Eat! Because of the wound in your mouth it may be a bit uncomfortable to chew, however, to heal you must eat. Consider Carnation Instant Breakfast or Slimfast. You are not allowed to be on a diet during the week after your oral surgery since this could create healing complications. The quicker you heal the better you'll feel. Drink plenty of fluids since there is almost always some blood loss from oral surgery. Orange juice is especially good but any fluid is better than none.
Bite on the sterile gauze we provided you with. The pressure stops the bleeding and if you run out of gauze, try a tea bag. The gauze must be changed every twenty minutes so that the blood doesn't start clotting and sticking on it. If this happens you will bleed again after you rip it out. Some bleeding is normal for 24 hours, however, is should not be bright red nor fill a small glass. Do not spit hard since this can break the clot up and start bleeding again.
You can use ice only for the first hour after oral surgery to prevent swelling. Ice will cause pain if used excessively. Use moist heat after the first hour. Run the hot water in your bathroom sink and place a towel in it. Ring the towel out and place the warm towel over the area of your oral surgery. Then open and close your mouth to stretch it and increase the blood circulation. After 24 hours you can salt water rinse. Stir a teaspoon of salt in a small glass of warm water and swish out your mouth and gently spit the rinse out.
You must return in one week for your post operative appointment. There is no charge for this appointment and we have you return to be sure you have healed correctly. Sutures may also need to be removed.
No one wants complications but if they do occur they should be reported to the dentist immediately. Many medical conditions can cause excessive bleeding. One of these is anemia which is very common in teenage underweight females. It is especially important to drink lots of fluids especially if bleeding doesn't stop and a follow-up visit to your physician is highly advised. We want our patients to be very comfortable, but this is not always possible after oral surgery. If the medication we gave you is not working well then please give the office a call and we can prescribe a stronger medication. Sometimes it is necessary to come into the office to get your written prescription since very strong pain medications can not be called into the pharmacy.
If you were doing well after you oral surgery but three days later the extraction site begins to hurt, it's probably a dry socket. Unfortunately very little can be done for a dry socket except stronger pain medication. The oral surgery site can be packed with a medicated gauze but this only brings temporary relief.
If you are experiencing any problems or have any questions, then please feel free to call our office at (404) 874-7428 or return earlier than a week for your post operative appointment. If you are bleeding excessively, or are worried , and can not reach a dentist then go to a hospital emergency room.