Easy Tips To Prepare For Oral Surgery & Avoid Complications

Nervous About Oral Surgery? Stay Calm & Get Ready Successfully

You are going to have oral surgery with an Ohio dentist – it could be for a variety of reasons – and you want to make sure that you are thoroughly ready and that you can keep the recovery process from going away.

We are here to help. Read on for some easy tips on how to prepare for oral surgery and avoid complications.

Learn Early On What To Expect

Talk to the surgeon or your Cuyahoga Falls dentist about a week or so before you have your oral surgery. You can ask them questions about things like

What Kind of Sedation WIll You Be Put Under and For How Long?
How Will You Get This Sedation?
Will You Need Company After the Surgery?
Does the Surgeon Have Any Particular Tips or Pointers on How to Prepare?

Make Sure That You Have Transportation To & From The Dentist’s Office

You will not be able to drive the day of the surgery. This is because you will be put under sedation, which can impair your reflexes, even if it feels like it has worn off. Also, you might feel discomfort afterward and you don’t want to have that be a distraction while you are driving. So arrange for a family member, a friend, or even a car service to pick you up after your oral surgery.

Have a Loved One Stay With You After Surgery

You can feel a bit off after your anesthesia wears off. It’s important to have someone watching you during the first few days. If there are any complications, they can take you back to the Garfield Heights dentist’s office immediately.

Don’t have anyone who lives nearby? Technology has made staying in touch much easier, too. All you have to do is open a Zoom session with one of them and they can monitor you over the course of the ensuing days.

Get The Right Pain Medication

You can take pain medication but be sure to get the right one. There are some of them that can thin your blood, which can keep you from healing. Talk to your Seven Hills dentist about what you can or cannot take.

Get Ice a Lot Of It

Your face may wind up swelling after your surgery. Applying ice to the area can keep it from getting too bad. Would you rather look a bit bloated or like a chipmunk with a lot of food in its mouth? Use the ice for 20 minutes at a time.

Only Get Soft Foods For a Bit

After your surgery, you want to only eat soft foods, since your jaw may be too sore. So stock up on those foods before your surgery. What kinds of soft foods? Yogurts, canned soup, or ice cream. Nothing that you drink through a straw, though. That can dislodge the blood clot in your jaw. You can prepare these foods in advance too so that all you have to do is eat them after the surgery.

Clean Your Place

You are going to be recovering and not want to move around. So do a thorough job of it before that. Also, set up a spot to rest. Place things so that you can do things like binge tv shows without having to move much. A TV tray is not a bad idea.

Brush & Floss Before The Surgery

This will make things much easier for the surgeon, since there will be no food particles to contend with.

Don’t Wear Contact Lenses

These can dry out during your oral surgery, so don’t bring them or wear them on the day of the surgery. Glasses are better for that day.

Wear Comfortable Clothes

You can come in wearing a t-shirt and sweats. They should be old, since there might be some mess. Tie your hair back if it is long. Leave jewelry at home.

OK, you did all that. Now the surgery is over and you are home again. If you are worried that something is not right after the surgery, like the pain worsening instead of going away or your tasting something bad coming from the site, you need to see your Fairview Park dentist immediately to make sure that there is not an infection. Do not try to wait it out and hope it improves. That increases the risk of an infection making its way around your jaw and bacteria getting into your bloodstream. Being proactive is the best way to avoid complications.

Visit Qualified Dentists In Ohio

Oral surgeries are fairly routine nowadays, though. If you follow the preparations before the surgery and listen to your Massillon dentist or oral surgeon’s post-surgical directions, things should go smoothly. Then you can resume your normal everyday routine pretty quickly and enjoy being able to smile again.

Are you having oral surgery at Pure Health Dental? We are ready to help you prepare any way possible. Our staff will answer any other questions you may have that were not addressed in this post. Contact us today! We look forward to helping you with your oral health.

Pure Health Dental