Post Op Instructions For Local Anesthesia

1.) DO NOT DISTURB THE AREA: Do not touch the area with your tongue or fingers. Disturbing the area can cause bleeding. Do not lift your lip away to look at the area. Do not spit, drink with a straw, or suck on the area because it can cause more bleeding. Do not eat in the area.

2.) DO NOT SMOKE FOR 48 HOURS AFTER YOUR SURGERY: Smoking disturbs the healing process. For proper healing, it is recommended that you stop smoking for 2-3 days following any surgery in your mouth to help prevent dry socket.

3.) DO NOT RINSE YOUR MOUTH OR BRUSH YOUR TEETH FOR 24 HOURS: After waiting 24 hours, you may gently brush your teeth and rinse your mouth. You may use warm water or a mixture of 3/4 water and peroxide. Do not use hot water. It will cause you to bleed more. Warm water is OK.

4.) SWELLING AFTER SURGERY: Swelling is part of the healing process. Swelling may continue to increase for 2-3 days after your surgery. Ice packs should be used on the outside of your face to keep the swelling down by placing it on for 20 minutes and then leaving it off for 10 minutes. Repeat this process for two to three days as much as possible. Do not use heat until 7 days after your surgery. Heat will make the swelling worse. Sleep with your head elevated on 2-3 pillows if possible. Bruising will occasionally happen and is normal.

5.) BLEEDING: Some bleeding for a day or two is normal. If you think you are bleeding too much, roll up a piece or two of your gauze and place it on the surgical site and bite down on it for hour. Pressure stops all bleeding. If biting down doesn’t help, wet a tea bag in cold water, ring it out, place it on the site and bite down on it for 3/4 hour. If neither of these options work and you are still bleeding excessively, call our office.

6.) PAIN: Pain is part of the healing process. You may be in pain after your surgery. Pain medicine will be prescribed if needed. Keeping your head elevated and applying ice will help reduce pain. Pain medication may not take away all of the pain. Overexerting yourself will increase pain & swelling.

7.) EATING: You can eat and drink after surgery. Wait until the numb feeling is gone before you eat solid food. Do not have hot liquids (coffee, tea, and soup) for a few days. They may make you bleed more. Do not eat food with small seeds (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, popcorn, etc) for 2-4 weeks following surgery. Try not to eat on the surgery area. Start with liquids, soft foods, and then start your regular diet when you can.

8.) DRY SOCKET (the blood clot breaks down): If something happens to the blood clot in the socket, you may develop dry socket. A dry socket usually occurs the 3^rd day after surgery causing severe pain. No one knows the reason dry sockets happen. If you have extreme pain, call the office. We will place medicated packing if it is found to be dry socket. Moderate to severe pain in normal. Extreme pain is not.

9.) MEDICATIONS: If a prescription for pain is given from Dr. Smith, please make sure to read all the information given with the prescription. It is important to know that if a pain medication (narcotic) is given, one of the side effects is drowsiness. Therefore DO NOT DRIVE, or do anything that requires coordination or decision-making skills. If you are taking other medications, you may consult Dr. Smith, your pharmacist, or your physician for further questions. Advil (Motrin) 400-600mg every six hours can also help. Oragel can also help with discomfort.

If you have upper back teeth extracted, do not blow your nose, spit or hold in your sneeze for 1 week. If you have had laser surgery, sinus surgery, or bone graft and have questions, please call the office at (216)-228-4232. If you are unable to reach Dr. Smith or your dentist, for a true emergency, go to the hospital emergency room.