After Wisdom Tooth Removal

The removal of impacted teeth is a serious surgical procedure. Post-operative care is very important. Unnecessary pain and the complications of infection and swelling can be minimized if the instructions are followed carefully.

Immediately Following Surgery

• The gauze pad placed over the surgical area should be kept in place for forty-five minutes after you get home. After this time, the gauze pad should be removed and discarded.
• Vigorous mouth rinsing or touching the wound area following surgery should be avoided for four days following the surgery. This may initiate bleeding by causing the blood clot that has formed to become dislodged.
• Take the prescribed pain medications as soon as you begin to feel discomfort. This will usually coincide with the local anesthetic becoming diminished.
• Restrict your activities the day of surgery and resume normal activity when you feel comfortable.
• Place ice packs to the sides of your face where surgery was performed. Refer to the section on Swelling for an explanation.

Bleeding

A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following surgery. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Stay down with your head up (on a couch or a recliner chair is best) the remainder of the day of surgery. Moving around will cause increased bleeding and dislodging of the blood clot, as well as increased swelling and pain. Keep talking and movement to a minimum the first 24 hours, as these actions will cause increased swelling and bleeding (not allowing the blood clot to form). If you do have to replace the gauze because of active bleeding, just fold another piece of gauze, wet it with tap water, and place it over the surgical site. Bite with slight pressure on the gauze for 1 hour and then remove the gauze. DO NOT ALLOW THE PATIENT TO FALL ASLEEP WITH GAUZE IN THE MOUTH. If bleeding continues, bite on a moistened tea bag wrapped in gauze for 1 hour. The tannic acid in the tea bag helps to form a clot by contracting bleeding vessels. To minimize further bleeding, do not become excited, sit upright, and avoid exercise. If bleeding does not subside, call for further instructions.

Swelling

The swelling that is normally expected is usually proportional to the surgery involved. Swelling around the mouth, cheeks, eyes and sides of the face is not uncommon. This is the body’s normal reaction to surgery and eventual repair. The swelling will not become fully apparent until the day following surgery and will not reach its maximum until 2-3 days post-operatively. However, the swelling may be minimized by the immediate use of ice packs. Two plastic bags filled with ice, or ice packs should be applied to the sides of the face where surgery was performed. The ice packs should be left on continuously while you are awake. After 48 hours, ice has no beneficial effect. If swelling or jaw stiffness has persisted for several days, there is no cause for alarm. This is a normal reaction to surgery. Forty-eight hours following surgery, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face is beneficial in reducing the size of the swelling.

Diet

After general anesthesia or IV sedation, liquids should be initially taken. Do not use straws. Drink from a glass. The sucking motion can cause more bleeding by dislodging the blood clot. You may eat anything soft by chewing away from the surgical site(s). High calorie, high protein intake is very important. Refer to the section on Suggested Diet instructions at the end of the brochure. Nourishment should be taken regularly. You should prevent dehydration by taking fluids regularly. Your food intake will be limited for the first few days. You should compensate for this by increasing your fluid intake. At least five to six glasses of liquid should be taken daily. Try not to miss a single meal. You will feel better, have more strength, less discomfort and heal faster if you continue to eat. Caution: If you suddenly sit up or stand from a lying position you may become dizzy. If you are lying down following surgery, make sure you sit for one minute before standing.

Discoloration

In some cases, discoloration of the skin follows swelling. The development of black, blue, green, or yellow discoloration is due to blood spreading beneath the tissues. This is a normal post-operative occurrence, which may occur two to three days post-operatively. Moist heat applied to the area may speed up the removal of the discoloration.

Medications

If you are prescribed Motrin or Ibuprofen after your surgery this is done to help to reduce post operative swelling as well as deliver baseline pain relief. It is important that you take your Ibuprofen medicaions after meals three times a day. Motrin 800mg should not be taken anymore than three times a day with meals. Should stomach burning or pain occur, please contact your doctor for possible discontinuation of this medications.

Pain narcotics will decrease your pain quickly. It can also cause extreme drowsiness. Patient should not drive or operate any type of machinery or do any tasks that require hand and eye coordination. Also no alcohol should be taken while taking narcotic pain medications. Narcotic pain medications do have side effects which include drowsiness and possible nausea and vomiting.

Routine surgery does not require antibiotic coverage. However, if you have been placed on antibiotics, take the tablets or liquid as directed. Antibiotics will be given to help prevent infection. Discontinue antibiotic use in the event of a rash or other unfavorable reaction. Call the office if you have any questions.

If you are on birth control pills, it is important that you understand that you are at risk for pregnancy while on antibiotics due to drug interactions, (alternate methods of birth control are necessary). If given antibiotics to treat infection, be sure you take the antibiotic pills as directed until all the medication is used (usually 7 to 10 days).

Nausea & Vomiting

In the event of nausea and/or vomiting following surgery, do not take anything by mouth for at least an hour including the prescribed medicine. You should then sip on Coke, tea or ginger ale. You should sip slowly over a 15-minute period. When the nausea subsides, you can begin taking solid foods and the prescribed medicine.

Other Complications

• If numbness of the lip, chin, or tongue occurs there is no cause for alarm. As stated before surgery, this is usually temporary in nature. You should be aware that if your lip or tongue is numb, you could bite it and not feel the sensation. So be careful. Call our doctors if you have any questions. Please make sure you make your doctors aware of your numbness at your post-op appointment.
• A slight elevation of temperature immediately following surgery is not uncommon. If the temperature elevates above 101 degrees notify the office. Tylenol or ibuprofen should be taken to reduce the fever.
• You should be careful going from the lying down position to standing. You were not able to eat or drink prior to surgery. It was also difficult to take fluids. Taking pain medications can make you dizzy. You could get light headed when you suddenly stand up. Before standing up, you should sit for one minute and then get up.
• Occasionally, patients may feel hard projections in the mouth with their tongue. They are not roots; they are the bony walls, which supported the tooth. These projections usually smooth out spontaneously.
• If the corners of your mouth are stretched, they may dry out and crack. Your lips should be kept moist with an ointment such as Vaseline.
• Sore throats and pain when swallowing are not uncommon. The muscles get swollen. The normal act of swallowing can then become painful. This will subside in two to three days.
• Stiffness (Trimus) of the jaw muscles may cause difficulty in opening your mouth for 4-7 days following surgery. This is a normal post-operative event which will resolve in time.

Finally

In some cases, sutures are placed in the area of surgery to minimize post-operative bleeding and to help healing. Sutures are normally self resorbing and usually come out in 5-10 days after the surgery. Sometimes they become dislodged. This is no cause for alarm. Just remove the suture from your mouth and discard it. The sutures will be removed approximately one week after surgery. The removal of sutures requires no anesthesia or needles. It takes only a minute or so, and there is no discomfort associated with this procedure. So it’s really nothing to worry about.

The pain and swelling should subside more starting 48-72 hours following surgery. If your post-operative pain or swelling worsens or unusual symptoms occur, call the office for instructions.

There will be a cavity where the tooth was removed. The cavity will gradually fill in with new tissue over the next month. In the meantime, the area should be kept clean especially after meals with salt-water rinses or a toothbrush.

Your case is individual. No two mouths are alike. Do not accept well-intended advice from friends. Discuss your problem with the persons best able to effectively help you: our doctors or your family dentist.

Brushing your teeth is okay - just be gentle at the surgical sites.

A dry socket is when the blood clot gets dislodged prematurely from the tooth socket. Symptoms of pain at the surgical site and even pain to the ear may occur four to six days following surgery. Call the office if this occurs.

If you are involved in regular exercise, be aware that your normal nourishment intake is reduced. Exercise may weaken you. If you get light headed, stop exercising.