Activity

Rest as much as possible. Avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activity for 48 hours. Patients who were sedated need to have someone present to care for them for a minimum of 12 hours after the procedure.

Bleeding

Maintain pressure on gauze for 1 hour following the procedure. If bleeding persists, replace the gauze and apply firm biting pressure for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Repeat as necessary. Biting on moist tea bags for 30 minutes can also be helpful. Mild oozing and pink-tinged saliva are normal for 24 hours after surgery.

Swelling

Swelling is normal after surgery. It will increase for the first 2–3 days and then slowly resolve. Ice packs may be applied for 20 minutes out of the hour (20 minutes on and 40 minutes off) for the first 48–72 hours, and then heat packs may be helpful after the first 48–72 hours in 20-minute intervals as well.

Pain

Do not take pain medications on an empty stomach. Take the pain medications as prescribed by your physician. If you are able to tolerate ibuprofen, we recommend taking it on a schedule for the first 3–4 days to stay ahead of the discomfort and minimize the swelling. Your physician will most likely give you prescriptions to be filled the day of your surgery.

Diet

Cold liquids and soft foods are best for the first 48 hours. We recommend a soft, mushy diet, such as Jell-O^®, pudding, yogurt, applesauce, ice cream, cottage cheese, protein shakes, etc., for the first few days. You may then advance your diet as you can tolerate it.

Oral Hygiene

Starting the day after surgery, you may brush your teeth normally. Be very gentle around the extraction sites. Peroxide and commercial mouth rinses should be avoided for at least 3 weeks. Do not smoke for at least 72 hours after surgery.

Other Medications

You may take all of your normal medications as prescribed, unless otherwise indicated by your physician. If you are given an antibiotic, take as prescribed until they are gone.