Home Care Instructions

General Instructions

1. Unless otherwise directed, DO NOT rinse your mouth the day of your surgery.
   
2. To minimize swelling, ice packs should be applied intermittently to the jaw(s) for the first 12 hours (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off).
   
3. Avoid smoking for the first 24 hours.
   
4. Keep your jaws closed tightly on the gauze pack for 30-60 minutes to help stop the bleeding and to keep saliva away from the open tooth socket. This compress may be discarded. Should the bleeding continue, replace the compress with a tightly folded, moistened gauze pack and apply pressure for 30 additional minutes.
   
5. Gently exercise your mouth the following day by opening and closing your mouth. This will help avoid developing a muscle spasm.
   
6. DIET: When the gauze pack is no longer necessary, you may drink cold, non-carbonated liquids (juice, malts, tea, etc.). Avoid drinking through a straw. Soft, cold foods may be eaten the first 24 hours following surgery (yogurt, ice cream, pudding, etc.). Warm and cold, soft foods may be eaten the second day after surgery (mashed potatoes, macaroni/cheese, etc.). It may be necessary to stay on a soft food diet until any soreness has resolved and a chewing diet can be tolerated. **If you are undergoing bone or soft tissue grafting surgery, you must maintain a puree diet for 2 weeks.
   
7. MEDICATION: After extensive surgery, prescription medication will be prescribed and should be taken as directed on the package. **To avoid nausea, please eat 30 minutes prior to taking your pain medication (bananas, pudding, yogurt, etc) unless you are on a diet restricted by your physician. For minor procedures, Ibuprophen (Advil) may be taken by patients who have no medical conditions that prohibit consumption of these products. Please ask Dr. Albright if you have any questions regarding prescriptions and current medications you are taking.
   
8. DAY TWO: Rinse the mouth vigorously, using up a full glass of warm water in which a half-teaspoon of salt has been dissolved. Continue this every two hours while awake. If you cannot get a supply of salt, use the warm water anyway. You should brush your teeth gently and you may use a commercial mouthwash. This care must be continued for one week. DO NOT add salt to the warm water if you have high blood pressure or heart disease. After 24 hours, heat should be applied to areas of swelling four times a day for 20-minutes sessions.
   9. DAY THREE-IRRIGATION SYRINGE: If you have been given a syringe, you may flush out extraction sites after each meal and before bedtime using warm salt water or water/mouthwash mixture.

In Case of:

1. Continued bleeding: If the bleeding continues in spite of the above, make a small amount of strong tea, boiling it for 5 minutes. Soak a small gauze compress in the tea and place it firmly on the tooth socket which is bleeding. Close the jaws tightly and hold this way for 30 minutes. Repeat if necessary. Lie down with your head raised on two pillows. Apply an ice bag or cold compress to the cheek on that side. Do not become alarmed or excited. Slight oozing may continue for 1-2 days. Almost all bleeding will be controlled by these measures. Remember that the bleeding may appear to be more that it actually is because of dilution in the saliva.
2. Nausea: May be caused by anesthetics, pain medication, and swallowed blood. Please remember to eat before you take pain medicine (something substantial like a banana). Should you experience nausea or vomiting following pain medication, lie down and close your eyes for 30 minutes. Usually the nausea will resolve. Frequent small sips of a flat soft drink such as 7-up or ginger ale will usually terminate nausea. Follow this with mild tea or clear broth and soda crackers. If you have been prescribed nausea medicine, please take it at this time. Please remember it may cause drowsiness. If the nausea persists, please call Dr. Albright.

Symptoms that May Occur

1. Swelling and an elevated temperature of some extent follows nearly every extraction. This is nature’s way of beginning the healing process. It does not mean infection is present. After the removal of impacted teeth or trimming the bone, swelling is often quite severe. It is often most marked on the 2nd or 3rd day and begins to disappear on the 4th or 5th day. If temperature is greater than 101 degrees, please Call Dr. Albright.
2. Stiffness of the jaws is nature’s way of resting the part that needs to be healed, and relaxes about the 4th or 5th day.
   
3. Bleeding internally into the cheeks or chin causes black & blue marks on the face. This appears first as swelling, but after the 2nd or 3rd day it may discolor the face yellow, black, or blue. It will gradually disappear in a week to ten days. A warm wet towel may be applied for 30 minutes, 4 to 5 times a day. This will be comforting, but will not speed up the fading process.
4. Slight numbness of the lip or tongue may occur as was explained to you prior to surgery. This is usually a temporary problem due to pressure on the nerve from postoperative swelling.
   
5. The local anesthetic (numbing medicine) usually lasts 1-10 hours, depending on what type was used.
   
6. After sedation, drowsiness may persist from 24-36 hrs. If this occurs, do not drive a motor vehicle or operate hazardous equipment.
   
7. Your other teeth may ache temporarily.
   
8. If your lips become dry and/or cracked, keep them moist with Vaseline or lip gloss.
   
9. Avoid alcohol as it may increase the sedative effects of the prescription medication & anesthetic agents.

PLEASE CALL DR. ALBRIGHT @ 490-4044 SHOULD PROBLEMS ARISE WHICH CONCERN YOU