After Ridge Preservation Procedure

We care about our patients and we believe in making sure they have more than enough information to be able to take all the necessary precautions to make our procedures feel seamless.  Please read below and pay special attention to our advice and suggestions:

 

You may find some small granules in your mouth for the first several days. Do not be alarmed by these. It’s normal to have some of them come out of the graft site and into your mouth.  A protective covering is sometimes placed over the graft area.  It usually stays over the grafted area until your follow-up appointment with our office.  If it falls off prior to your follow-up appointment do not be alarmed. 

 DO NOT DISTURB OR TOUCH THE GRAFTED AREA: 

 Do not apply pressure with your tongue or fingers to the grafted area, as the material is movable during the initial healing.

Do not vigorously rinse or spit for 3-5 days to allow the blood clot and grafted material to stabilize.  The day after your procedure, gentle rinsing is advised but not too vigorouslyABSOLUTELY NO WATER PIK’S!

Do not lift or pull on the lip to look at the sutures. This can actually cause damage to the wound site and tear the sutures.

 

Do NOT Smoke. Do NOT drink alcohol.   Smoking causes blood vessel constriction and alcohol causes dehydration, which are both harmful to healing and it is best to avoid during the first week of healing. 

Swelling is often associated with oral surgery.  It can be minimized by using a cold pack, ice bag or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel and applied firmly to the cheek adjacent to the surgical area.  This should be applied twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off during the first 24-72 hours after surgery.  If you have been prescribed medicine for the control of swelling, be sure to take it as directed. 

 Unfortunately most oral surgery is accompanied by some degree of discomfort.  You will usually have a prescription for pain medication.  If you take the first pill before the anesthetic has worn off, you should be able to manage any discomfort better.  Some patients find that stronger pain medicine causes nausea.  We recommend taking each pain pill with a small amount of food to  reduce chances of nausea.  The effects of pain medications vary widely among individuals.  If you do not achieve adequate relief at first, you may supplement each pain pill with an analgesic such as aspirin or ibuprofen.  Some patients may even require two of the pain pills at one time. Do not take extra Tylenol (acetaminophen) as most prescription narcotics already contain this medicine.    Remember that the most severe pain is usually within six hours after the local anesthetic wears off; after that your need for medicine should lessen.  If you find you are taking large amounts of pain medicine at frequent intervals, please call our office.  If you anticipate needing more prescription medication for the weekend, you must call for a refill during weekday business hours.

 Take your prescribed medications as directed and until finished.