After Minor Oral Surgery

What to do

Your dentist will use a gauze pad over the wound to cut down on the amount of bleeding while the blood clots. This gauze pad should be left in place for an hour no matter how soggy it becomes. Keep firm and constant pressure on the gauze pad by closing your teeth firmly on the pad. If you are still bleeding after 1 hour, put a new gauze pad on the area and continue to put firm and constant pressure on the pad for another hour.

Rest and keep your head raised. Rest slows down the circulation (flow) of blood. This helps stop the bleeding and helps you to heal faster.

Brush and floss your teeth as usual, but stay away from the wound and use only a little bit of water.

If you are still bleeding a lot and it has been 4 hours or longer since your surgery, call your dentist .

A full day after surgery, rinse your mouth gently with warm water. Your dentist or oral surgeon maysuggest that you add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a cup of warm water each time you rinse. Rinse 4 or 5 times a day, for 3 or 4 days.

What NOT to do

■ Do not rinse your mouth within the first 24 hours, even if the bleeding and oozing leave a bad taste in your mouth.

■ Do not chew on the gauze pad or suck on the wound.

■ Do not strain yourself for 2 full days after your surgery.

■ Avoid hot liquids like coffee and tea. If you eatsoup, let it cool first. Hot liquids increase the flow of blood and your wound can start to bleed again.

Wisdom teeth

 

Wisdom teeth are a valuable asset to the mouth when they are healthy and properly positioned. Often, however, problems develop that require their removal. When the jaw isn't large enough to accommodate wisdom teeth, they can become impacted (unable to come in or misaligned). Wisdom teeth may grow sideways, emerge only part way from the gum or remain trapped beneath the gum and bone.

Extraction of wisdom teeth is generally recommended when:

• Wisdom teeth only partially erupt. This leaves an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection. Pain, swelling, jaw stiffness and general illness can result.
• There is a chance that poorly aligned wisdom teeth will damage adjacent teeth.
• A cyst (fluid-filled sac) forms, destroying surrounding structures such as bone or tooth roots.

 

Patients should ask the dentist about the health and positioning of their wisdom teeth. The dentist may make a recommendation for removal or send the patient to an oral surgeon for further evaluation.