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Post Operative Instructions

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Post Operative Instructions

BLEEDING: Slight bleeding may not be unusual. Your saliva may be tinged with blood for up to 24 hours. Gauze should be left in place for at least 2 hours after the procedure keeping strong pressure. Do not forcefully spit or irritate the surgery site. This may cause more bleeding. If bleeding returns or continues go back to using a gauze pack with firm pressure for 1/2 an hour.

PAIN: It is not uncommon to have pain for a few days after the procedure. Take pain medications as needed. The first day it is recommended that you take pain medicine as soon as minimal pain comes because it is easier to prevent pain than to reduce it. Pain medications are most effective when taken before the local anesthetic has worn off. Pain management is as follows (if not contraindicated by your physician or unless discussed differently with your dentist):

600 mg of Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) every 4-6 hours as needed 1000 mg of Acetaminophen every 4-6 hours alternating with Ibuprofen Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen are different medications and they work different to manage pain. The combination of those two medications has shown in literature to be better than taking narcotics. Please beware of any other medications that you may be using that may have Acetaminophen in it. If in doubt, call your pharmacist.

SWELLING: After surgery, swelling around mouth, cheeks, eyes, or side of face is very common. It is body’s natural response to healing. Swelling will be most noticeable the day after surgery and will reach its maximum on day 2-3 post-operatively. The swelling may be minimized by ice packs. Apply icepack to the outside of your face, at the surgery site, for 20 min on and 20 minutes off for the first 24 hours. Prepare those by placing dish sponges or washcloths in Ziplock bags and then in a freezer. Frozen peas also work well. After 24 hours moist heat can be applied to area. Sleeping with your head elevated above your heart for the first two nights will also reduce swelling.

BRUISING: Bruising is very common after surgery. It may be present over the surgery site or in the lower chin area. Black, blue, green, and yellow discoloration is due to blood spreading under the tissues. This may be seen 2-3 days after the procedure and last up to 14 days. Moist heat applied to this area (after 24 hours) can help speed up the removal of discoloration.

DIET: After surgery it is important to drink lot of liquids and eat soft nutritious food. Acidic and spicy good such as tomatoes, orange juice or citrus fruit can be eaten after the site has healed for 2 weeks. Do not drink thru a straw for at least 48 hours, this can dislodge a blood clot necessary for healing and lead to significant pain. For the first few days, favor chewing with the other side of your mouth.

ORAL HYGIENE: Hygiene is very important because the presence of food and debris may promote swelling and infection. You may brush your teeth and rinse your mouth the day after surgery. Brush your teeth as usual, especially gentle (but thorough) around the surgery site. Use warm salt water (1/2 teaspoon of salt in 12 oz of water) after each meal. Do not brush the surgical site for 4-5 days. Use the chlorohexidine mouth rise 24 hours after surgery as directed.

ACTIVITY: Limit strenuous activity for 2-3 days following surgery. This will reduce bleeding and minimize swelling, which is damaging to the surgical site and delays healing.

FEVER: It is common to have a slightly elevated body temperature for 24 hours after surgery. Please remember to keep hydrated. Please contact the office if you have heigh temperature or if it persists for more than 24 hours.

SMOKING/ALCOHOL: Smoking and alcohol as well as elevated blood sugars will delay healing and predispose you to infection which can result in bone graft and/or implant failure. This can possibly result in additional surgeries, delay in healing and loss of bone graft/implant. DO NOT SMOKE or use alcohol until the incision line is completely healed (2 weeks).

SUTURES: Sutures are placed to minimize bleeding and help in healing. They may become dislodged, or feel like they have moved. If you have lost a suture within the first week after implant placement or first month after bone graft placement, please contact our office immediately.

MEDICATIONS: It is very important that you continue to take all medications as directed by your physician. This includes any medications prescribed by our office. If you develop any side effects to medications prescribed by our office, please contact us immediately. For Women: Be aware that taking antibiotics reduces the effectiveness of your Birth Control Pills, alternative methods should be used.

REMOVABLE PROSTHESIS: Partial dentures, flippers and full dentures should not be used immediately after the procedure unless specifically discussed. If you have a temporary, esthetic, flipper, do not insert it until the numbness has gone away. When it is inserted, it should not touch the gums of the surgery site. If it does, contact the office right away for an adjustment. This pressure will cause an ulceration which can lead to the loss of the bone graft or implant.

NUMBNESS: Be cautious until the anesthesia wears off, as you will have no feeling in the surrounding area and can unknowingly injure the site. Care should be exercised when eating as to not injure the soft tissues. Eat or drink on the other side of the mouth, until the numbness goes away. If any numbness persists past 5 hours, please contact our office immediately.

Post-Operative Management

Anticipated Pain Level
Oral Analgesic Options
Mild
Ibuprofen 200-400 mg as needed for pain every 4-6 hours
Mild to Moderate
Ibuprofen 400-600 mg fixed interval every 6 hours for 24 hours
then
Ibuprofen 400 mg as needed for pain every 4-6 hours
Moderate to Severe
Ibuprofen 400-600 mg plus acetaminophen 500 mg fixed interval every 6 hours for 24 hours
then
Ibuprofen 400 mg plus acetaminophen 500 mg as needed for pain every 6 hours
Severe
Ibuprofen 400-600 mg plus acetaminophen 650 mg with hydrocodone 10 mg fixed interval every 6 hours for 24 to 48 hours
then
Ibuprofen 400 mg to 600 mg plus acetaminophen 500 mg as needed for pain every 6 hours

* Adapted from Moore and Hersh 20137

Maximum Daily Dosage:

  • Acetaminophen 3,000 mg
  • Ibuprofen 3,200 mg

https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/oral-analgesics-for-acute-dental-pain/

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This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for our website. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:

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Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as personal health information or credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example: billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not complying with your rights, you should contact us immediately via telephone or email. You also have the right to contact Health and Human Services (HHS) (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/). We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

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We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

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You have certain rights regarding the data collected by GA4. You have the right to do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

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In addition to opting out of any future communications from us at any time, you may also opt out of the GA4 feature if you so choose. You can opt out of the GA4 Advertising Features we use through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or through the NAI’s. This link points to Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/

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Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

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