POST-OPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXTRACTIONS

POST-OPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXTRACTIONS

  1. Do not eat anything until the “freezing” anesthetic goes away.
  2. Keep biting on gauze for 1 hour when you leave the office then discard the soiled gauze. If the gauze becomes soaked, change the gauze earlier than an hour with the extra sterile gauze from our office. If for some reason you do not have any gauze, you can buy gauze from any drug store. If bleeding begins later, then take a couple pieces of gauze, fold and place over the extracted area and bite hard for 20 minutes. Repeat up to 3 times.
  3. No strenuous exercise for the next day or two.
  4. Please DO NOT drink alcohol or drink hot liquids for 24 hours. Alcohol and smoking may cause an infection in your mouth while it’s trying to heal. Try to avoid smoking for 3-5 days post extraction.
  5. No rinsing or spitting for today. Eat or drink only cool/lukewarm foods or liquids for the first 24 hours and avoid hot foods. Hot liquids, drinking through a straw, as well as the action of spitting may disrupt the healing process or loosen stitches.
  6. On the 1st or 2nd day after getting teeth removed you may experience some swelling and bleeding; Using an ice pack on your cheek externally will help with pain as well as the swelling. An icepack should be used for the first few hours after the surgery for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. You may have some oozing on your pillow at night so you might want to put a towel down when you sleep.
  7. Starting tomorrow, do warm salt- water rinses 3-4 times a day for the next 3-4 days. You can make a salt water mouth wash by mixing ¼ teaspoon of salt with 1 cup of lukewarm water.
  8. If you were prescribed pain medication, please take it as instructed by your pharmacist. A healthy patient should heal without any complications within 2 – 5 days. Advil is the best option for facial pain if you are not limited by any medical reasons. If you cannot take Advil, take Tylenol or any other alternative medications that the Doctor recommended. If the Doctor prescribed an antibiotic, take the entire prescribed amount as indicated to reduce or prevent infection.
  9. Some bleeding or oozing is normal but excessive bleeding, or bleeding that won’t stop is reason for concern. Please call the dental office if your condition gets worse. Some pain after removing a tooth is normal but if the pain gets worse or becomes unbearable please call the office as well.
  10. I acknowledge that the post-procedural instructions were given to:

Patient name:
MM slash DD slash YYYY

Once fully read and reviewed, please sign below that you have received the appropriate post-operative instructions and that the patient has had the opportunity to ask any related questions . By signing below and submitting this document, we are assuming that it has been read in its entirety. All patient signatures will be verified for authenticity in the office

If you have any questions about the instructions or your dental health, please call either of our office locations.