Post Operative Care
Post Operative Care is Essential
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE:
815-933-0990
24-HOUR ANSWERING SERVICE AVAILABLE
After your visit with KVOMS, proper care is essential. Please read through these general guidelines, and if you have any questions please never hesitate to call, email or leave us a message.
BLEEDING:
Slight bleeding is to be expected following any surgical procedure.
Here’s what you can do at home:
- Place gauze pad on the area and bite down firmly for 15-20 minutes
- If after several attempts to use the gauze technique you’re still bleeding, use a moistened, room temperature tea bag on the area, gently holding it on the surgical area.
- Gauze changes may show some blood or oozing which is normal.
- Over-doing gauze changes can result in loss of the blood clot and result in pain.
- Avoid the following:
- Spitting
- Laying flat
- Physical activity
- Smoking
- Hot liquids
- Sucking through a straw
ACTIVITY:
Give yourself some rest after surgery by sitting or laying down with 2-3 pillows propping your head up, especially if you experience any additional bleeding.
DISCOMFORT:
- Use an ice pack, 10 minutes on one side, 10 on the other, for a few hours
- Take Tylenol or pain medication prescribed for you as directed before the numbness wears off.
- Naproxen or Ibuprofen can be a useful addition to the Tylenol or in place of the narcotic pain medication you were prescribed.
- By the 3rd or 4th day after Wisdom Tooth removal, pain should be subsided.
- If pain persists after the 4th day, notify the office.
DIET/FOOD INTAKE:
- Immediately following your procedure, your post-operative diet should consist of cool liquids, ice cream, Jell-O, pudding, and milkshakes (no straws, use a spoon).
- Days 2 and 3, if tolerated, eat a soft diet of food that doesn’t need to be chilled: scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, pasta. You can also take a liquid dietary supplement such as Boost, Sustical, or Ensure.
- After 3 days, you can advance your diet, but popcorn, seeds, and nuts are strictly restricted for 6 weeks.
- If you’re experiencing nausea, try toast and tea, broth with crackers, 7-Up, Ginger Ale, etc.
THE SYRINGE:
For lower wisdom teeth, use 1 week after surgery, using water to gently flush out the area as this region takes longer to heal
SWELLING/BRUISING:
- Maximum swelling normally occurs within 72 hours after surgery.
- After 3 days, if swelling is present, use warm, moist towels or a heating pad to reduce swelling.
- Bruising may occur and may bee visible for up to 14 days.
SUTURES:
- Light-colored sutures may become loose and dissolve within 2 to 7 days.
- Black sutures do not dissolve and must be removed.
ORAL HYGIENE:
- Brush all of your teeth except the surgical site plus one tooth in either direction.
- Post-operative days 1-7, rinse your mouth gently 2-4 times daily with a warm salt-water solution—1/2 tsp. Salt per 8 oz. warm water
BIRTH CONTROL:
- The use of antibiotics may decrease the effectiveness of oral birth control pills.
- The use of alternative birth control methods is recommended.
RETAINED ROOTS:
- Root fragments near nerves, vital structures, or sinuses may be retained to minimize injury to these areas.
OTHER:
- An elevated temperature is normal for the first 24-48 hours after surgery.
- Numbness (paresthesia) of the lip or tongue, not the operative side may persist for an undetermined duration.
- Avoid driving or operating hazardous equipment the entire day of the surgery if you received a general anesthetic.
- Bone slivers may surface following the surgery, but typically they fall out while others may need to be removed.
- A large or unstable filling or crown may become dislodged at the time of surgery or shortly thereafter.
