What Should You Take Care of After Oral Surgery?
Oral surgical procedures are straightforward, pain-free, and fast due to dental technological advancements. Most oral tissue surgeries do not require an overnight stay at the dental clinic near you. However, you must take certain precautions to promote healing and prevent complications. Read on to learn about them.
What Is Oral Surgery?
It is an operation performed on your teeth, gums, jaw, or surrounding oral and facial structures by a dental professional. The dentist in Surrey performs oral surgery when alternative treatments are inadequate. There are various types of oral surgical procedures performed at Healthy Smiles, including:
- Dental bone grafts to correct jaw bone loss
- Tooth extraction for impacted or severely damaged teeth
- Dental implants to treat tooth infections
- Periodontal surgery for gum disease
- Sleep apnea surgery
- Corrective jaw surgery for issues with the jaws like TMJ disorders
- Cleft lip and palate repair
How Can I Speed up Oral Healing?
You must take excellent care of your mouth after oral surgery at a dental clinic near you. Below are some after-oral surgery care tips to speed up oral healing.
- Rest and avoid strenuous activities
Do not perform activities requiring lifting heavy objects or bending over. They increase pressure in your head and increase bleeding at the surgical site. Instead, lie down with your head elevated to allow lymph and blood to flow away from the wound. As a result, the inflammation and bleeding will reduce, promoting faster healing.
- Follow the dental expert’s instructions
Every oral surgical procedure has particular guidelines to aid in recovery. Therefore, you should follow all the instructions provided by the dentist. Not following the instructions may lead to increased pain, bleeding, or swelling.
- Eat a Soft Food Diet
A nutrient-rich diet promotes faster healing after oral surgery. Therefore, eat foods that provide your body with the vitamins and minerals that promote cell renewal and wound healing. Ensure they are soft to avoid damaging or irritating the soft tissues around the site.
- Use the prescribed Medications
Your dentist will prescribe or recommend medications to use during recovery. They will ease the pain and aid in healing. You should take the medicines as prescribed.
- Maintain Great Oral Hygiene
The dentist will instruct you to avoid flossing or brushing near the operation site. However, you should maintain excellent oral hygiene to prevent infections. You can do that by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt water solution after each meal. It helps remove all food debris and bacteria from your mouth.
- Use cold therapy
Apply an ice pack near the surgical site to slow blood flow and ease swelling. Place it on the area intermittently for 15 minutes at a time.
How to Sleep With Oral Surgery
After an oral procedure, your dentist recommends you get plenty of rest. One of the ways people rest is by sleeping or lying down. However, you may not sleep well after surgery due to the bruising or swelling in your face or neck. In addition, the dentist will instruct you not to sleep as you are used to when recovering.
For the first three days after surgery, you should sleep with your head elevated above your heart. Alternatively, you can keep your head elevated by resting on a recliner. Keeping your head propped up promotes proper blood flow to your head, promoting recovery. It also reduces excessive bleeding from the wound and swelling of your mouth and face.
Your dentist may place gauze pads inside your mouth to help reduce bleeding. If they ask you to keep the pads in place throughout the night, you will not sleep as usual. The gauze pads need to be changed after every two hours or when soaked.
You should also wake up frequently to readjust their position, so you do not choke on them. Therefore, you need to set your alarm to wake you after every two hours to change or check on the gauze pads. Alternatively, you may ask someone to wake you up or check on you at night.
After oral surgery, it is normal to experience pain, swelling, and tenderness in your face or neck. Unfortunately, the discomfort may disrupt your sleep or rest. Therefore, take the medications prescribed to help ease the pain and swelling. You can also press a cold pack on the operated area before sleeping to reduce the discomfort.