Post-operative care

In the first 24 hours after your operation, you should not:

• Drive a motor vehicle or operate complex machinery.
• Sign any important legal documents.
• Drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes — avoid both for the first 48 hours.

Following general anaesthesia, you may experience occasional giddiness, tiredness or mild nausea on the day of the operation.

Numbness around the surgical site may continue for some hours after your procedure.

• Avoid aspirin.
• In most instances, antibiotics and painkillers will be prescribed. It is important to take the antibiotics as prescribed unless a reaction develops.
• Begin the analgesics before the numbness wears off. It is better to prevent the pain than to stop it once it has started.
• Strong analgesics are not meant to be taken unless you have strong pain.
• Their side effects include dizziness, nausea and vomiting. If the discomfort is bearable, try a milder analgesic such as Panadol.

• Soft food is tolerated for the first 24 hours, followed by a sensible diet, with nothing hard to eat for at least 3 days.
• Eat soft, nutritious foods like soft-boiled eggs, finely chopped meat or cheese, custards, milk, soup, or fruit juices.
• Chew any foods on the other side of your mouth. If you have had four teeth removed, eat on the front teeth.

The most important feature of wound healing is the blood clot, which seals the wound, prevents infection, and aids the formation of new tissue. We recommend the following:

• Don't rinse the mouth for the first 4 hours after surgery. This avoids washing away the blood clot, which may cause the wound to bleed again.
• Use ice packs for the first 3 days.
• Don't place fingers, pencils, or any object in the mouth, to avoid injury or infection.
• Don't bite or suck a numb lip, cheek, or tongue while the area is still numb — a nasty injury may result.
• Watch carefully that younger children don't suck or chew a numb lip, cheek, or tongue.
• Rinse your mouth gently after meals with half a teaspoon of table salt in a glass of lukewarm water. Commence this the day after surgery, every 3–4 hours.
• You may brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush the following day using your regular toothpaste. Rinse out normally and then with lukewarm salty water.
• Sutures, in most cases, are dissolving and will begin to fall out approximately 7 to 10 days after placement.

• Don't lie flat. Relax, but keep your head elevated to help reduce swelling.
• Avoid excessive activity for 24 hours.
• Avoid vigorous rinsing or spitting for 24 hours.

Continued bleeding is not normal. The first action is to remove any excessive blood clots from the mouth.

• Apply a rolled gauze square or a small folded handkerchief to the wound and keep it under pressure, or firmly close your jaws on it, for at least thirty minutes.
• The cloth must be clean and dampened.
• If this does not stop the bleeding, call your surgeon. If it occurs after hours, attend the nearest accident and emergency department.

Call us on (02) 9890 1822 — we would rather hear from you early than have you wait in discomfort.