1. Bleeding or light oozing is normal throughout the day of surgery. In order to protect the forming blood clot and stop the bleeding, gentle pressure must be maintained on the surgical area. Bite on the gauze pad placed by the surgeon and change it every 30-45 minutes until it is no longer red. Slightly pink gauze means the wound doesn’t actively bleed anymore. As an alternative, a moistened tea bag wrapped in gauze can be applied as well – its tannic acids are effective blood stoppers. Make sure to place gauze all the way to the back of your mouth if you had wisdom teeth removed.  
And remember: don’t chew and don’t talk with gauze.

2. On the day of the procedure, a liquid diet is recommended: smoothies, shakes, yogurts, puddings, juices, soups, and ice cream. Avoid drinking or eating all things hot and carbonated beverages. Over the next week, it’s better to stick to a soft diet (mashed potatoes or any food that you can cut with a fork). Forget junk food like chips or crisp, hard snacks.

Some of the Don’ts of the first post-op week:

• don’t suck like drinking through a straw
• don’t pick at the surgical wound
• no smoking (at least 72 hours), otherwise, a dry socket may form, which means a blood clot will be dislodged too early and the healing will slow down

3. You may experience some pain, swelling, and bruising around lips for a few days after dental surgery.
Apply ice packs or ice cubes wrapped in a towel on your face within the first 24 hours. Keep them for 15-20 minutes with 10-15-minute breaks. If pain and soreness in muscles persist after 3 days, apply a hot towel and practice closing and opening your mouth to keep muscles moving.
Putting extra pillows to elevate your head at night also usually decreases swelling. Dexamethasone injection along with IV may as well be effective in relieving post-op complications.

4. Take all the prescribed painkillers as instructed, and preferably with food to avoid nausea. The first med to take immediately after the operation is antibiotic and Motrin/Ibuprofen. This first dose must work before the effects of local anesthesia wear out, in other words – in the next few hours.
For a wisdom teeth extraction done under IV sedation, we normally administer a long-acting anesthetic (like Marcaine). Although allowed to combine with Motrin/Ibuprofen, we don’t recommend taking any narcotic painkillers since in most cases these medications are enough to relieve you of any unpleasant post-operative sensations.

5. Do not mouthwash, rinse mouth or brush teeth within the first 24 hours. You can resume brushing and flossing the next day, carefully avoiding the wounded area not to damage sutures or cause bleeding.
Gently swish with salty water twice a day (after eating, before sleeping) and don’t use commercial mouthwash.
There’s usually nothing to worry about when sutures get loose or fall out. But if you are not sure that the healing goes well, don’t hesitate to call us.

6. During a follow-up visit to the clinic after a week, you’ll be given further instructions to promote recovery. A dentist may also clean the wounded areas and give you an irrigation syringe, which you can fill with warm salty water and wash the surgical sites a few times a day at home.

7. How soon can you come back to school or work? In the majority of cases when a single tooth extraction took place, people get back to normal activities the next day. After the removal of multiple teeth, it’s recommended to stay home for a few days.

8. You should avoid going to the gym, lifting, bending for the first 3-5 days. Light exercises are allowed on the following day after surgery.