How to Recover from Oral Surgery
Posted on 3/22/2021 by Dr McMurray |
 Following oral surgery, you have to take extra care of your mouth if you want to recover quickly and avoid pain. Whether you had a wisdom teeth extraction, new dental implants, or went through a major jaw realignment surgery, there are many ways to ease the pain and avoid infection.
At South Valley Oral and Facial Surgery, Dr. McMurray and Dr. Chehrehsa recommend you follow all post-surgery instructions to recover as quickly as possible.
Things to Do After Oral Surgery
Following any dental procedure, the first thing we advise is proper rest and little physical activity. To reduce swelling and bleeding, place your head on a soft pillow. Secondly, make sure you stock up on ice packs because you'll be applying them for 15 minutes on-and-off to keep swelling down. More importantly, following your surgery, you'll need to stick to soft or liquid foods for a few days.
Add foods like yogurt, soups, and smoothies to the menu while limiting rice, meat, and bread. Furthermore, you must maintain oral hygiene to limit bacteria action after eating or drinking. You can do this by rinsing and brushing carefully.
Things Not to Do After Oral Surgery
Even if you feel like you're recovering well, you shouldn't overexert yourself by exercising or working. Increased blood flow can cause the area to bleed by dislodging the blood clots. Secondly, you should avoid hot foods and drinks until the effects of anesthesia wear off. Since you can't feel pain while you're numb, you won't know if you burn your mouth.
If you smoke and/or drink alcohol, avoid both until you fully recover or wait at least 2-3 days as they can interfere with the healing process. Lastly, avoid hard, crunchy, and sugary foods for at least a couple of months. This includes candy, gum, popcorn, carrots, and apples, etc.
For post-surgery instructions specific to your procedure and health conditions, we recommend visiting Dr. McMurray and Dr. Chehrehsa at South Valley Oral and Facial Surgery. To schedule an appointment with us, call us at 408-479-9449 today.
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