If you are going in for oral surgery soon, it helps to know what to expect following the surgery. Here are three things that are possible to experience following your oral surgery.
#1 Bleeding
It is very common to bleed after you have had oral surgery, especially if you had a tooth pulled out or a wisdom tooth removed from your mouth. If you have sensitive gums, your gums may bleed a little bit after surgery as well. This is complete normal and nothing to worry about.
If your dentist provides you with gauze, keep it on for the recommended amount of time. When you are ready to remove the gauze, take a small sip of water – this will help loosen the gauze from your mouth – then pull it off. You may need to reapply gauze to your mouth to stop the bleeding.
If you are still bleeding more than a day after your surgery, that is when you should be concerned and should contact your oral surgeon for follow-up care.
Swelling
Most, but not all people, experience swelling following oral surgery. The best way to help reduce the swelling is to wrap an ice pack in a washcloth and apply it to the outside of your face where the swelling is present. This should help reduce the swelling. Keep the ice on for twenty minutes or so, then take it off for an equal amount of time, and then reapply the ice again. Keep this up during the first day following your surgery, and hopefully your swelling will be kept to a minimum although it can take about a week and a half for swelling to completely disappear for some people.
In addition to swelling, your face and mouth muscles may also just feel stiff. This is also normal and should pass after a week and a half or so as well.
Pain
You may experience pain after your oral surgery. The type of pain that you experience will vary based on your personal pain tolerance and the exact type and nature of your oral surgery. Generally, over the counter pain medication are all you need to deal with the pain. Depending on the type of surgery, your doctor may prescribe something stronger. Be sure to discuss any prescriptions for pain with your doctor ahead of time, and let your doctor know if you have addictive tendencies so your doctor can find the safety way for you to manage any pain that you experience following surgery.
You may also need to take a prescription antibiotic medication; this medication will help protect you from developing an infection. Make sure you take antibiotic as it will ward off potential pain by protecting you from an infection. Talk to a dentist, like DSW Dental, for more help.
