Post Operative Instructions
Please select the procedure you had to see a summary of post-op
instructions. Call us if you have any questions:
1- Pressure should be placed on the gauze pad that
has been placed on the extraction site for one hour. If the
bleeding continues new gauze should be placed and pressed
on for another 45 minutes.
2- If you are supervising children
who have had extraction done, make sure they don t bite on
their numb lips or tongue (it can cause serious injury to
their soft tissue).
3- Avoid eating or drinking anything
hot on the day of your extraction. Also, do not rinse
your mouth, do not use a straw for drinking. Do not spit and
do not drink carbonated beverages. Do not brush on the day
of the surgery; you can resume your brushing and flossing
the day after, gently.
4-You may experience some pain, bruising
around your lips and/or some swelling, especially after extraction
of impacted wisdom teeth. Ice bag application and medication
prescribed for you will help to minimize your discomfort.
5- Please take all the medication you
have received based on the instructions given to you.
6- During the first 2-3 days after
the surgery a diet of soft food and liquids is recommended
(soup, yogurt, milk shake and juice).
7- For more complex Surgical Procedures
including Impacted Wisdom Tooth Extraction, Implant Surgical
Procedures, etc; you will receive an ice wrap which should
be worn for the rest of the day and until you go to bed on
the day of surgery only (10 minutes on and 5 minutes off). Individual
instructions for various surgical treatments will have some
unique directions which will be supplied to you at
the time of your treatment.
8- Call our office if you experience
excessive bleeding, severe pain or swelling or if you have
any questions or concerns. In case of serious emergencies
call 911.
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1- Do not eat on your new filling for
one hour and until your numbness is gone.
2- If you are supervising children
who had fillings done, make sure they don t bite on their
numb lips or tongue (it can cause serious injury to their
soft tissue).
3- Do not bite hard or chew on silver Amalgam fillings
for 24 hours.
4- You may experience cold and heat
sensitivity and some soreness on your gum, this usually subsides
in few days.
5- Call our office if you experience
pain or discomfort for more than a few days after
the fillings, or if you have any questions.
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1- Crown and bridges usually take 2 or 3 appointments to complete.
On the first appointment the tooth/teeth are prepared and
impressions are taken and a temporary crown is placed on your
tooth/teeth.
2- You may experience sensitivity,
gum soreness and slight discomfort on the tooth / teeth, it
should subside after the placement of permanent crown.
3- Whenever anesthesia is used, avoid
chewing on your teeth until the numbness has worn
off.
4- Temporary crown is usually made
of plastic based material or soft metal. It could break if
too much pressure is placed on it. The crown also may come
off; if it does, save the crown and call our office. The temporary
crown is placed to protect the tooth and prevent other
teeth to move. If it comes off it should be replaced. To avoid
losing your temporary, avoid chewing on sticky and hard food
(chewing gum, ice). Try to chew on the opposite side of the
treatment as much as possible.
5- After the permanent restoration
is placed you may feel slight pressure for a few days. Also,
the bite may feel different for a day or two. But if the bite
feels uneven or you feel discomfort on chewing on the tooth
after 2-3 days call our office. Delaying the necessary adjustments
may damage the tooth permanently.
6- Continue your normal brushing but
be careful while flossing around the temporaries (remove the
floss gently from the side).
7- Call our office if you are in pain or if you have any
questions.
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1- You may experience moderate pain
and sensitivity to pressure on your tooth. Also, you may feel
gum soreness for few days after your treatment. The healing
process may take several days but the pain and discomfort
should subside gradually.
2- Take any medication that was prescribed
for you according to instructions.
3- Usually a temporary filling has
been placed on your tooth, do not bite on the tooth for one
hour and while you are numb. Also, until the permanent restoration
is placed, be very gentle with the tooth. Try to chew with
the opposite side.
4- Continue your brushing and flossing.
5- Follow up with the placement of
your permanent restoration as you have been advised. Any unnecessary
delay on placement of final restoration may damage the tooth
permanently.
6- Call our office if you are in
severe pain or experience swelling or if you have any questions.
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1- You may experience some cold and
heat sensitivity (especially after deep cleaning).
2- If you have received anesthesia
do not eat anything until the numbness has worn off.
3- Continue your regular brushing and flossing.
4- Some bleeding for a day or two after
cleaning is normal, but if you experience any excessive bleeding
call our office.
5- Call our office if you are in pain or if you have
any questions.
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1- You may experience some pressure and discomfort
on your teeth.
2- Be gentle with braces and avoid chewing hard
and/or sticky food.
3- Brushing and flossing around braces
are sometimes challenging but very important.
4- Call our office if you have any questions.
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1- You may experience some pain, swelling
and bleeding after the surgery.
2- Take all the prescribed medications
based on given instruction.
3- Apply an ice bag on your face over
the surgical site on the day of surgery for 10 minutes on
and 5 minutes off.
4- Keep your next appointment on time
for removal of sutures and follow up checks.
5- DO NOT raise your lips with your fingers to inspect
the treated area.
6- DO NOT brush teeth near the surgical site.
Brush teeth in the rest of your mouth.
7- There is often a temporary loss
of feeling in the operated area and the tooth may feel loose.
8- Do not smoke, spit or use a straw
on the day of the surgery (avoid smoking for a few days after
the surgery).
9- Should any difficulties occur, do
not hesitate to call our
office anytime. In case of an extreme urgency call 911.
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1- You may experience some discomfort
and bleeding the day of the surgery.
2- Take all the prescribed medications based on
given instructions.
3- Apply an ice bag on your face over
the surgical site on the day of surgery for 10 minutes on
and 5 minutes off.
4- Keep your next appointment on time
for removal of sutures and follow up checks.
5- DO NOT raise your lips with your fingers to inspect
the treated area.
6- DO NOT brush teeth near the surgical
site. Brush teeth in the rest of your mouth.
7- There is often a temporary loss
of feeling in the operated area and the tooth may feel loose.
8- Do not smoke, spit or use a straw
on the day of the surgery (avoid smoking for a few days after
the surgery).
9- Should any difficulties occur, do
not hesitate to call our
office anytime. In case of an extreme urgency call 911.
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1- You will experience some discomfort
with any new denture for a few days. All new dentures need
several adjustments to completely and comfortably fit your
mouth.
2- You should take the dentures out
every night and keep them in a clean container containing
water or denture cleaning solution. Your gum needs rest and
to be without the dentures every day for a period of time.
3- Clean dentures thoroughly with brush and water before
putting them back in your mouth.
4- It may be difficult to talk normally
with the new denture for a few days. A way to practice
is to read a book or newspaper out loud for a period
of time everyday. Your tongue and muscles will get used to
the new denture and you will talk normally very soon.
5- Call our office if you are experiencing pain, discomfort
or if you have any questions.
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1. Swelling, minor pain and / or skin discoloration
may be experienced following the surgical procedure. This
will be temporary.
2. In order to keep the swelling to a minimum,
use an ice pack for the first few hours (on for 10 minutes
and off for 5 minutes).
3. The dayafter the surgery use
lukewarm water rinses for the treated area following each
meal. This should continue for the first 3 days following
the surgical procedure.
4. Eat
only soft foods. Avoid hard and chewy foods.
5. Get plenty of rest and insure normal intake
of food, especially liquids such as fruit juices, soup, and
milk. Use a vitamin supplement if desired. Try not to
sleep on the operated area for 2-3 days.
6. DO NOT raise your lips with your fingers
to inspect the treated area.
7. DO NOT brush teeth near the surgical site. Brush
teeth in the rest of your mouth.
8. There is often a temporary loss of feeling
in the operated area and the tooth may feel loose.
9. Take
medications according to the instructions.
10. Should any difficulties occur, do not hesitate
to call our office anytime. In
case of an extreme urgency call 911.
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You have just had surgery completed
for the reduction of periodontal pocketing and/or for replacement
of bone in an area where pathology existed; or in conjunction
with endosseous dental implant surgical placement with or
without platelet addition to the bone graft. You will
be advised of the particular procedure and pertinent directions
relative to your treatment modality. Whether you were
put to sleep for this procedure or were only given local anesthesia,
the post operative directions remain the same.
You will have several sutures (stitches) placed at the surgical
site. These sutures may or may not be resorbable. If
you have been told that you have received external silk sutures
they have to be removed by us. The sutures will cause
a pulling of your tissue over the bone grafting site. Since
the bone graft site will have approximately 15 % more bone
fill than what was naturally there, it is imperative that
you do not pull up your lips or cheeks to show or examine
the area. The undue pressure will cause the sutures to
widen away from the surgical site, expose bone, create more
pain, and delay healing dramatically. This delay
can lead to the need for the area to be sutured again when
you are seen for your 1 week post surgical evaluation. The
sutures will remain in place for between 14 and 21 days depending
on the size of the graft, the severity of the pathology, and
the condition of the tissue being sutured.
Your doctor will tell you what time period to expect.
Remember though that this is not etched in stone, and that
the doctor may extend the time before your sutures are removed
to assure adequate healing and to avoid surgical regression.
You also may have a periodontal pack placed
over the surgical site. The pack is pink in color, impregnated
with antibiotic, and will protect the surgical site form infection
and any wash out of the particulate bone utilized to restore
your jaw. The pack should be left in place for as long
as possible. If a pack is placed the doctor will remove the
packing on your 1 week followup and decide if the packing
should be replaced or kept off. Usually the packing is
kept on for 7 to 10 days minimally. You must return to
the office if your pack falls off before you are seen for
your 1 week follow up.
Your maintenance during healing has to be completed carefully. You
can brush in every area where the periodontal pack is not
placed. It is imperative that you use NOTHING ASTRINGENT
such as mouth wash or antiseptic solutions during the healing
period of your bone graft. Listerine, Viadent, and any
other potentially caustic agent can RUIN your bone grafting
procedure, if contaminated, and require a replacement bone
graft. Doctor and our staff will reiterate this with
you at, during, and after your bone graft surgical procedure.
After the first stages of healing is satisfactory, we will
deliver and instruct you on how to use normal saline (with
or without the addition of salt), and irrigation syringes
for cleaning of the surgical site.
Since bone grows and heals slowly, and requires conditions
conducive to a proper environment and blood supply, it is
imperative that immediately after your bone graft that you
alter your diet, as you would for any Oral Surgical procedure.
This means that you should not eat anything that is too large,
too hot, or too sticky. Your food should be tepid or
on the cool side. Any food too hot will have a deleterious
affect on your surgical procedure. Common sense must
be used in determining what should be done or not done. If
for some reason you have a question about anything post surgically,
please call the office and we will inform you of the proper
action to take.
Smoking after any Oral Surgical procedure will ALWAYS delay
or badly disrupt normal healing due to a decrease in oxygenation
of the tissue that is healing. Smoking should therefore be
stopped for the first 7 to 10 days to allow for adequate initial
tissue closure. Complete epithilization (closure) and
wound healing normally takes a minimal of 21 days from the
day the surgery was completed under ideal healing conditions
and no other underlying systemic causes such as Diabetes Melitus,
etc.
Bone grafting is a very predictable surgical procedure when
done correctly and when patient cooperation is adhered to. Please
try to be reasonable in understanding that this procedure
has inherent risks associated with it as stated in your informed
consents. Some of these risks are also pertinent to your
post operative care.
We want nothing more than a perfect outcome with the surgical
procedures that you are having done to rehabilitate your bone. This
can only be attainable with proper cooperation from you. Please
always feel free to communicate with us, at any time, to make
sure that the procedures that you are having completed are
properly maintained. No question is ever perceived by
our office as being silly or unreasonable. We would rather
have questions answered immediately than to have a chance
that the procedure will not go as planned, especially from
omissions that are preventable.
Please also remember, as stated above, and as outlined on
your informed consents, that there are some occasions that
no matter what is done that the outcome is not perfect.
There are even infrequent instances when a surgery may have
to be redone that are neither the doctors or the patients
fault.
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