Do not disturb the wound. Avoid rinsing your mouth, spitting, or touching the wound on the day of surgery. Be as gentle as you can around the bone grafting area. Try to maintain all graft material at the surgical site.
BLEEDING
- Some bleeding or redness in the saliva is normal for 24 hours.
- You can control excessive bleeding by biting on a gauze pad placed directly on the bleeding wound for 30 minutes. In general, use as little pressure as is needed.
- Change the gauze pad every 30 minutes as needed. Remove gauze when it is no longer needed.
- If excessive bleeding continues, please call for further instructions.
SWELLING
- Swelling is a normal occurrence after surgery.
- To minimize swelling, apply an ice pack (or a plastic bag or towel filled with ice) on the cheek in the area of surgery. Apply the ice continuously, as much as possible, for the first 24–36 hours.
- Swelling generally reaches a peak in 3 days following surgery and then subsides over the next 3–5 days.
DIET
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Avoid hot liquids and foods.
- Eat soft foods on the day of surgery.
- Keep all solid food away from the surgical site.
PAIN
- You should begin taking pain medication before the local anesthetic wears off.
- Ibuprofen bought over the counter comes in 200 mg tablets:
- 3 tablets may be taken every 6 hours as needed for pain (no more than 3200 mg/24-hour period).
- Tylenol® (500mg) may be taken 1 hour after taking ibuprofen if you are still experiencing pain.
- For severe pain, the prescribed medication should be taken as directed.
- Do not take any of the above medication if you are allergic or have been instructed by your doctor not to take it. This may include patients with liver or kidney disease.
ANTIBIOTICS
- Be sure to take the prescribed antibiotics as directed to help prevent infection.
ORAL HYGIENE
- Good oral hygiene is essential to good healing.
- Warm saltwater rinses (a teaspoon of salt in 16 ounces of warm water) should be used at least 4–5 times a day, especially after meals.
- If you are given a prescription for Peridex™ Oral Rinse, rinse for 30 seconds and spit twice per day.
- Do not brush the 2 adjacent teeth on either side of the graft site for the first 7 days. After 7 days, you may gently brush the tooth surfaces of the adjacent teeth, as long as the bristles don’t disturb the graft site.
- You may floss normally starting the day of surgery, if comfortable.
ACTIVITY
- Keep physical activities to a minimum immediately following surgery.
- If you are exercising, throbbing or bleeding may occur. If this occurs, you should discontinue exercising.
WEARING YOUR PROSTHESIS
- Partial dentures, flippers, or full dentures should not be used immediately after surgery.
- You may wear these prostheses as soon as it is comfortable but only if the prosthesis doesn’t touch the graft site.
