Frequently Asked Questions

You may feel unwell and run a mild temperature for 1-2 days after surgery. Sometimes you may feel sick to your stomach or vomit. This can be due to the pain medication, the surgery itself, and/or the sedatives used during the procedure. This will subside with time.

You may see some bruising develop at the corners of your jaw and run into your neck after several days. If you bruise easily, you may have more than average.

The surgery may make it difficult to open your mouth wide for several days. Also you may have some difficulty swallowing (in the first few hours) because of the “freezing” and (over the next several days) because of discomfort and soreness. You may or may not find that this bothers you.

Swelling, at the corner of your jaw and cheeks, is normal. It will generally increase up to 2 or 3 days after the surgery before starting to decrease. Swelling can be decreased by applying ice at the corners of your jaw for the first 24 hours. A bag of ice, or frozen vegetables, wrapped in a cloth or towel can be placed on your face and jaws and held there. Generally 20 minutes on and then 20 minutes off for the first day (except when sleeping at night) helps to reduce swelling. Remember that the swelling will generally peak on the 2nd or 3rd day after the surgery.

After the teeth have been extracted, the “holes” or tooth sockets will fill up with blood and form a “clot” or “scab” just like a cut on your skin. Every effort should be made to avoid disturbing or dislodging the clots at the extraction sites. You should avoid putting your tongue, toothbrush and rough foods near the surgical area. You should avoid sucking through a straw (the sucking action can suck the clots out of the sockets and start it bleeding). Often the extraction sockets may ooze a bit of blood for the first few hours after the surgery. If you “drool” blood, it is probably mostly saliva mixed with a bit of blood. If you do think the extraction sites are bleeding excessively, follow these steps:

• Wet two-or three 2 inch by 2 inch gauze pads and roll them up into a ball
• Place them over the bleeding extraction socket(s)
• Bite on them firmly for 20-30 minutes thereby applying firm pressure on the socket
• Repeat this procedure 2 - 3 times if needed

If you have no gauze at home, you can also use the corner of a facecloth or wet tea bags. This will generally stop any bleeding. If this doesn’t stop the bleeding, call the Clinic. Do not be surprised if you see a few spots of blood on your pillow the next morning.

After the local anaesthetic or “freezing” wears off, you will most likely feel some pain and discomfort in your jaws. This is normal and may last a few days. You may have had some pain medication prescribed for you; take it as directed. The amount of pain you have is variable and may range from none at all to more than average. Most people are somewhere in between. Remember that the pain medication will not always completely relieve the pain. Also remember, the pain may increase on the 2nd or 3rd day after the surgery before it starts to get better.