TVOFS - Boise Office
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Posted on 2/29/2020 by Cole Anderson, DMD, MS |
 When our patients are having an oral surgery procedure, they usually have a lot of questions when we schedule the surgery. Sometimes they have more after the surgery. This may answer one of the most common questions.Patients are concerned that after surgery, exercising their normal oral hygiene regimen will mess something up. They are worried about brushing and flossing. They do not want their mouth to start bleeding again and they certainly do not want an infection. They are afraid that taking care of their teeth will affect the healing process and cause them more problems as well. The good news is you do not have to walk around with unbrushed teeth, but the bad news is you do have to be careful or you will cause yourself problems. So What Do I Do? The day of your surgery, you should simply try to keep yourself quiet and rest. Do not engage in strenuous activity, lie down if you can, do not drink hot liquids, and do not use straws. You also should not brush your teeth or floss your teeth. In addition, do not use a mouth rinse. This is only for the day you have had the surgery. The reason is that you must make sure that you do not dislodge the blood clot from the surgical site. This is particularly true after an extraction. The day after your surgery you can get back to what would be a more normal oral hygiene regimen. However, there are adjustments to make. First of all, start rinsing your mouth with salt water five or six times a day. All you have to do is dissolve a ½ teaspoon of regular salt in an 8 oz. glass of water. When you rinse your mouth do it gently. Sloshing the water around in a raucous manner will not help you heal, it will only dislodge the clot. It is possible that we may give you an irrigation syringe to use for the rinsing but if we do not see the need the water in a glass is fine. Also, on the day after your surgery, you may start brushing. Again, this is gentle brushing, not vigorous brushing. When you brush, stay away from the surgical site. If you brush too close to it, you could dislodge the clot and it will start bleeding again. Once the site has healed you may begin your normal routine. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us. |
