At Oral Surgery Center, S.C. in Baraboo, WI, Dr. Erich Herbst and Dr. Steven Anderson want your post-surgical recovery to be quick and as painless as possible. To provide you with the best care available, there are a few things to remember when taking care of yourself after oral surgery.

Since it’s common to have some bleeding following oral surgery, have clean replacement gauze at home. Typically, bleeding will slow significantly within the first hour after your surgery, but it is not uncommon for the treatment area to bleed for several hours. To significantly reduce bleeding, bite down gently, but firmly, on the gauze just as you were shown before discharge from the surgical center.

When the gauze is soaked, simply replace it with another until the bleeding stops. To keep the site from re-opening, avoid sucking motions with your mouth following surgery. Though it may seem easier to drink with a straw, avoid this until you have fully healed.    

Since you most likely were asked to fast prior to your surgery, you will be hungry when you arrive home. If your mouth still feels numb from your procedure, eat very slowly and with great caution. Especially with bone grafting and facial trauma surgeries, start with soft foods that don’t require much chewing. Mashed potato, pudding, and applesauce are good choices to start with, and water, milk, or juice is best to drink.

The doctors may choose to prescribe pain medication for you to manage any discomfort following the procedure, which will include specific instructions for use. If you are using an over the counter pain reliever, Ibuprofen may be taken every 4 to 6 hours as needed.

Following wisdom tooth and impacted tooth extraction, swelling may occur, and can easily be managed by applying a cold compress over the treatment area. Place the compress on the swollen area for no longer than ten minutes at a time, with a twenty-minute break in-between.