Rinsing

Do not rinse your mouth for the rest of the day, but begin rinsing the day following surgery with mouthwash or warm salt water (1/2 a teaspoon to a glass) after meals and at bed time. Continue for several days.

Swelling

Swelling and/or brushing can follow after oral surgery, and can last 3 to 7 days before gradually subsiding. Ice packs can be applies as soon as you get home for the rest of the day while you are awake. It is best to hold the ice pack over the facial area for 20 minutes, and then take for 20 minutes. Continue this for several hours.

Hygiene

You may brush your teeth the day after surgery. Be gentle around the surgical sites. If stitches were used they will either dissolve within 2 weeks or they will have to be removed in 7 to 14 days. If in doubt please call the office.

Medication

Take post –operative tablets as directed. We advise beginning pain about 1 hour after surgery, before any freezing wears off.

Food

Have nothing too hot for the first 24 hours. Drink plenty of fluids such as ginger ale, coke or fruit juices. Eat soft foods such as eggs, yogurt, pasta, or apple sauce. Resume your normal diet when comfortable. It is best NOT to drink through a straw for the first day or two as it can promote bleeding.

Immediate Dentures

Leave your dentures in your mouth until the next day. If they are removed before then they may not fit again because the jaw WILL swell. When the swelling does come down in a few weeks the dentures still might not it. So LEAVE them in. When removing them do so carefully and gently rinse your mouth with mouth wash. At your discretion, the dentures may now be left in or out of your mouth without any consequences.