Colorado Plains Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.C.
527 W. Platte Ave
Fort Morgan, CO 80701
Phone 970-867-4477
Surgical Instructions
Pre-operative:
Patients that have never been seen at Colorado Plains Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery should plan on arriving approximately 15 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment in order to fill out medical history and demographic data forms.
If you are being seen for the first time, please bring a complete list of all medications that you are currently taking.
IV sedation instructions:
You may not have anything to eat or drink for 8 hours prior to surgery.
Patients that are planning on being sedated for their procedure MUST have someone to bring them to their appointment, stay in the office during treatment, and be able to take them home.
Plan on not being able to drive or operate heavy machinery for a period of 24 hours after surgery.
Wear loose fitting comfortable clothing in which the sleeves may be rolled up past the elbow.
Do not wear any nailpolish or excessive makeup.
Post Operative Instructions:
First Day: Bite down gently but firmly on the gauze packs that have been placed over the surgical areas, making sure they remain in place. Do not change them for the first hour unless they are completely saturated. The packs may be gently removed after one hour. If active bleeding persists, place enough gauze to obtain pressure over the surgical site for another 45 minutes. The gauze may be changed as necessary (typically every 45 minutes to an hour). Once the gauze is a light pink after a period of 45 minutes, it does not need to be changed.
Do not disturb the surgical area today. Do not rinse vigorously or probe the area with any objects including fingers. Refrain from smoking. Smoking is the number one risk factor for post operative dry socket and is very detrimental to healing.
Intermittent bleeding or oozing is normal. Bleeding may be controlled by placing fresh gauze over the areas and biting on the gauze for 30-45 minutes at a time.
Bleeding should never be severe. If so, it usually means that the packs are being clenched between the teeth only and are not exerting pressure on the surgical areas. Try repositioning the packs and applying firm and steady pressure. If bleeding persists or becomes heavy, you may substitute a tea bag (soaked in hot water, squeezed damp-dry and wrapped in moist gauze) for 20 or 30 minutes. If bleeding remains uncontrolled call our office at 970-867-4477.
Pain: After your procedure you should expect some degree of discomfort. You usually will have a prescription for pain medication that was written at your appointment. It is recommended that you take the first dose of pain medication before the anesthetic wears off (this amount of time can vary but will usually be at least two hours). Some patients may experience post operative nausea associated with prescription pain medication. It is often helpful to take the pain medication with either a small amount of food or a glass of milk in order to alleviate this potential complication.
Diet: During the first few hours after surgery, while the area is still numb, it is recommended to take a non chew diet so areas of the lips, cheek and tongue are not traumatized by chewing. After the numbness wears off, you may begin on a soft foods diet . Over the following days, a gradual progression to more solid foods will be determined by your symptoms and how well you are healing. The most important things to remember are although your diet may change, you should still be taking in a normal amount of daily calories, and staying hydrated during the postoperative period by drinking ample fluids will help make you feel better, have less discomfort, and heal faster. It is best to avoid foods like nuts, sunflower seeds, popcorn etc., which may get lodged in the surgical areas. A straw is best avoided for the first week following surgery.
Sharp Edges: If you feel something hard or sharp in the surgical area, it is likely you are feeling the bony walls which supported the extracted tooth/teeth. These sockets will remodel extensively over a period of 4-6 weeks with a slow remodeling process taking up to three months. Occasionally, small slivers of bone may work themselves out during the healing process. If they cause concern or discomfort, please contact our office.
Swelling: In general, most wisdom teeth patients as well as other oral surgery patients will have a variable amount of swelling that will increase for 2-3 days after surgery and then begin to diminish over a period of a week or so. The second and third days are usually the most uncomfortable and following this you should notice a gradual steady improvement. If during the post operative period you become more swollen or have increased pain after the few post operative days, contact our office.
