You will be given a local, not general, anesthetic – so eating is OK. If you have been prescribed sedative medicines, a light meal shortly before the appointment is still OK. If you happen to be diabetic then it is essential that you have normal meals.
Sorry, but that is not a good idea! Coffee will only make you more nervous and uncomfortable, especially because “bathroom breaks” will be very inconvenient. Tobacco in any form should not be used at all on the day of surgery and for as long afterwards as possible! Nicotine is a potent constrictor of blood vessels, shutting off blood supply that is critical for wound healing. If you cannot resist the cravings, then use a dermal patch (not nicotine gum!) to sustain your addiction.
Use the mouthwash an hour or so before your appointment, when you take your first dose of antibiotic and any other prescribed medicines. Thoroughly clean your teeth then measure about 1/2oz or 15cc of the mouthwash into the cap or medicine cup. Swish it vigorously around all of your teeth for a half minute, then spit out (“expectorate”) the excess. This greatly reduces the number of germs in your mouth so your wound will be less contaminated during the operation. There is a medicine aftertaste to the mouthwash that some find objectionable... but the germs don’t like it either!
Not a good idea. The active ingredient in the rinse stays in your mouth for 12-14 hours, so “twice-a-day” means just that. Using the mouthwash more often does not increase its effectiveness, but it does increase the side-effects of staining and sometimes “canker sore-like” ulcerations.
Antibiotics do the most good if they are already in your system, “just waiting for the germs”! It is especially important for the success of any graft for your blood to be “full of antibiotic”. Once sutured and clotted, antibiotics cannot get to the wound until new blood vessels form a few days later.
Not a good idea. Antibiotics kill the susceptible bacteria (the “weak bugs”) quickly but some (the “strong bugs”) will be somewhat resistant and won’t be killed for several days. If you stop taking the antibiotic early, the resistant bacteria will multiply uncontested and the resulting infection will be more difficult to treat.
Though it will be a while before you feel the effect of the sedative, absorption can occur quickly if your stomach is empty. You could hurt yourself or others or get a DUI! Besides, you should be relaxing, not stressing over the drive here. Also, since your will not be driving home (right?!!), you won’t have to worry about getting your car back.
Sorry, but even just walking down the steps outside the office you cold fall and hurt yourself. You must be accompanied by a responsible adult. (No offense intended to cab drivers…!)
It is easier to prevent pain than relieve it. You will feel pain after the surgery, so start taking the prescription pain-reliever before the numbness is gone. If you followed the preoperative instructions to start taking ibuprofen before your appointment, then you are already well on your way to a comfortable recovery. Remember, “Don’t wait for it to get bad” and “Stay ahead of the pain”. Also, take it easy and treat yourself as if you have just had an operation…
A normal part of would healing is swelling, so when the tissues around your teeth swell it will move the teeth slightly out of position. This usually starts 2 or 3 days after the surgery and lasts for about 2 weeks. Your “bite reflex” will sense this and you may unconsciously clench to reposition your teeth. If you already have the habit of clenching or grinding your teeth, this can become especially uncomfortable. It pushes your teeth back into swollen/tender “sockets”, further bruising the surrounding tissue and creating a vicious cycle. This creates the feeling of a “bone bruise”, a dull throbbing ache in the jaw above and below the wound. Muscle spasms may occur, especially overnight, in the area of your cheek, ear, temple and even the back of your head. These aches are not easily relieved by any pain-relieving medicine (narcotic or not). Cramps are relieved by relaxation, stretching, massage and applying heat to stimulate circulation. Try these remedies before taking more pills!
This is a problem. All oral narcotics will cause some nausea, especially if taken on an empty stomach. So always take prescription pain-relievers with plenty of liquid and/or some food. Also, the larger the dose of narcotic the more nausea, so try a smaller dose more frequently. You can even grind up the pill (two spoons work well) and put it in yogurt or applesauce, then eat this mix slowly over a period of half-an-hour. This problem is also why you should be taking ibuprofen as your “basic” pain reliever. It is very good at relieving dental pain and can be taken at the same time as your prescription pain reliever.
Not a good idea. Antibiotics kill the susceptible bacteria (the “weak bugs”) quickly but some (the “nasty bugs”) will be somewhat resistant and won’t be killed for several days. If you stop taking the antibiotic early, the resistant bacteria will multiply uncontested. The resulting infection will have to be treated with still another antibiotic, often one that is more costly and/or with more side-effects.
The main purpose of the graft is to thicken and widen the gum to protect the underlying bone. Getting new soft tissue to survive on a tooth root where there is no blood supply is not a “natural act”. Think of trying to get your lawn to grow over and completely cover your driveway! But we “gum-gardeners” are clever and in some special situations (for instance a very narrow defect) we can “fool mother nature”.
If gum tissue were to grow all the way back to its original position where gum pockets were present, the pockets would be back. So, we don’t want the gums to “grow back” that far.
Tooth roots are normally sensitive to cold, somewhat like an unfilled cavity would be sensitive. The dressing was placed to assure the gums did not reform pockets, so with the loss of insulation you will really feel anything cold. Also, any injury to a tooth results in a nerve that is extra-sensitive. This sensitivity will be much less in a few weeks. You can help this along by keeping the teeth plaque-free and applying the concentrated fluoride gel that will be given to you. Apply a small amount to the sensitive spot (your tooth root at the gum-line) with a finger or “Q-tip”, every hour or two for a few weeks. You can rinse or eat immediately afterwards. Ignore the fine-print on the fluoride tube or bottle in this regard.
Now you can see where your periodontal disease had caused “bone decay”. There is now space where there were pockets before the operation. We do not want the pockets to reform so these spaces should remain. Look at it another way, if a tooth had been lost there would be a huge “black rectangle”!
The black line is the metal that seals the crown to the tooth and upon which the porcelain is built. Only a new crown will alter this appearance. Attempting to cover it with a filling is not a good idea.
An occasional side-effect of the disinfectant mouthwash, it will go away when you are able to perform normal oral hygiene again, usually 2-3 weeks after the operation. It is not an infection or anything that needs treatment.
A more common side-effect of the disinfectant mouthwash, it can be removed from most areas by polishing during your postoperative visits. But if your plastic fillings are old and porous, the stain cannot be removed. Look at it as a good way to have found a leaky filling before it caused a toothache!