Depending on the dental problem that you are experiencing, you may need to undergo oral surgery to correct it. This can be an important part of the treatment process, but individuals may have concerns about preparing for their oral surgery and recovering from the procedure.

Discuss The Oral Surgery With Your Primary Care Provider

Because oral surgery is needed for dental issues, it can be common for patients to underestimate the complexity and seriousness of these procedures. This can lead to patients failing to appreciate the need to inform their oral surgeon of any medical conditions or other issues that they are experiencing. When this occurs, the patient can be more likely to experience complications from the anesthetics and other medications that are needed during the surgery. Speak to your primary care provider about what your oral surgeon will need to know.

Prepare Meals For Your Recovery Period

You are likely to have dietary restrictions that will need to be followed during your recovery period. While these restrictions can be unpleasant, they are important for reducing the risk of complications occurring as well as helping to promote healing. Often, these restrictions will involve avoiding hard foods that could cut or irritate the surgery site. Preparing meals before you undergo the surgery will help you to easily be able to eat while you are recovering. In most cases, you will only need to prepare meals for a couple of days.

Keep The Site Clean And Limit Swelling

Preventing infection of the surgery site will be one of the primary concerns for oral surgery patients. While it may seem like keeping the surgery site clean will be difficult, it can be surprisingly simple if you are cleaning your mouth after each time that you eat. This will eliminate the majority of the substances that could lead to plaque and tartar formation. In addition to cleaning the surgery site after eating, you should also change any gauze and rinse with a cleaning agent every few hours.

Visit Your Oral Surgeon If You Experience Complications

If at any point during your recovery you notice unusual swelling, discharge or other issues, you will need to contact your oral surgeon as soon as possible to make sure that you have the surgery site evaluated as soon as possible. If an infection or other complication is developing, prompt treatment will be needed to limit the risk of the infection spreading or needing extensive treatment to correct. In many instances, minor infections can be address by the surgeon cleaning the surgery site and prescribing an antibiotic mouthwash.  

Share