Advanced Dental Implants, Prosthodontics & Family Dental Care
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Advanced Dental Implants, Prosthodontics & Family Dental Care |
| Guide | Tooth loss | Initial examination | Scheduling | Surgical | Financial | FAQ |
Contents
Medical Changes Please inform us of any changes in your medical history, physical condition or use of any medications or drugs which were not previously reported. Medications If you normally take prescription medication, continue to do so on your regular schedule unless specifically told not to. If you are taking blood thinners or anti-coagulants such as Aspirin or Coumadin, you may need to discontinue their use prior to surgery. We will explain the protocol. Medical Consultation If a consultation with your physician was requested by us, the consultation documents must be received prior to the surgical procedure. If pre-surgical blood work was ordered, it must be completed 3-5 days prior to surgery and received prior to the surgical procedures. Prescriptions If prescriptions were written for you prior to the surgery, have them filled and ready before surgery to ensure proper dosage scheduling. Begin taking the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications as well as the peridex rinses one day prior to surgery. Smoking Smoking severely compromises healing. Completely refrain from smoking at least 1 week prior to surgery. Oral Hygiene Special attention must be given to oral hygiene prior to surgery. Spend extra time brushing along the gum line and flossing your teeth prior to the surgery in order to minimize the bacteria in your mouth. Dental Appliances If you wear partials or dentures, please bring them with you on the day of surgery. Rest Have a good night of sleep before the surgery. Important Note: Since surgical procedures require lengthy appointments, we have specifically reserved this time for you only. Therefore, in the event of a cancellation, please notify the office at least 24 hours in advance. Eating or Drinking For intravenous sedation anesthesia it is extremely important that patients have an empty stomach. For this reason do not have anything to eat or drink four (4) hours before your scheduled appointment, with the exception of small amounts of water which may be taken two (2) hours before the procedure. Take all normally prescribed medications unless advised otherwise by us or your Physician. Medical Changes A change in health, especially the development of a cold or fever, is extremely important. Please notify us if there is any change in your health. Medications Prescription medication should be taken as scheduled unless previously indicated by us and may be taken with small amounts of water. Clothing Short sleeves are advised and it is suggested that loose fitting pants be worn as well as comfortable shoes. Do not wear makeup, nail polish, or false eyelashes. Contact lenses must be removed before anesthesia. Leave all valuables at home. Designated Driver A responsible adult must accompany you to the office and remain during the procedure. Do not plan on operating any equipment including an automobile for twenty-four (24) hours after the anesthesia. Arrange to have a responsible adult to spend the rest of the day with you. Bleeding Bleeding is well controlled prior to your discharge. However, some amount of bleeding is perfectly normal. If Gauze was placed in your mouth keep it in for approximately 1-2 hours. You may replace this gauze as needed with new gauze given to you. Apply pressure with gauze manually or by biting with gauze over the surgical site if bleeding continues. If you run out of gauze you may use a wet tea bag or purchase gauze from a pharmacy. Refrain from vigorous rinsing and spitting for the first 24 hours to prevent blood clot destabilization. If profuse bleeding unexpectedly occurs and is uncontrollable, contact the office. Swelling Immediately following surgery, apply cold packs to the face adjacent to the affected surgical areas for the first 24-48 hours to reduce swelling. Cold packs are to be applied intermittently 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Simply place crushed ice within a heavy-duty sandwich bag and apply as directed. Starting on the third post-operative day, heat packs may be used in the same manner as above to reduce swelling. Moderate swelling is normal. As long as you are comfortable, do not be alarmed. Discomfort Moderate amounts of discomfort can be expected from all minor oral surgical procedures. Take the first dose of pain medication prior to the local anesthesia wearing off. Continue taking the prescribed pain medication as directed. Do not allow the pain to catch up with you. Take the medications on schedule to help control as well as prevent the pain. If severe pain occurs or if you are uncomfortable and cannot gain relief by taking the prescribed medications as directed, please contact the office. Medications It is imperative that you take all medications as prescribed. Antibiotics are prescribed to prevent infection and must be taken as directed to be effective. Anti-inflammatory and pain medications are prescribed to prevent and reduce swelling as well as pain. If itching, rash, or labored breathing occur while taking the prescribed medications, discontinue all medications immediately and contact the office or go to a hospital emergency room. Numbness Long acting local anesthetics are commonly used. Therefore, you may expect numbness of the gum tissues, lips and tongue for as long as 12-24 hours. Great care must be exercised to prevent biting or maceration of the lips and tongue. If numbness persists after 24 hours, contact the office. Bruising Minor amounts of bruising around the cheeks, lips, neck and face are normal. However, if the bruising extends over the neck area and enlarges over your chest please contact the office. Sutures Do not disturb your stitches. Both dissolvable and non-dissolvable stitches are commonly used. Dissolvable stitches will begin to untie in 1 to 2 weeks. Non-dissolvable stitches will be removed at the first or second post-operative visit. If you feel the stitches are coming undone before 3 days or if you feel loose excess gum tissue, please call the office. Diet Following surgery, a SOFT diet must be maintained for at least 2 weeks in order to minimize trauma to the surgical sites which can effect healing. In some situations, a longer period of time is required. We will discuss this with you if you require a longer soft diet period. After dental implant surgery, a LIQUID diet is MANDATORY for the first two weeks and then a SOFT diet for the remaining implant healing period, following the 2-week liquid diet period. This prevents pressure over the implants which can cause implant failure. Try to chew on sided not affected by surgery if possible. Hygiene A special mouth rinse, Peridex (or its generic) may have been given or prescribed to you. Rinse with this solution two to three times per day for one minute at a time. Tooth paste interferes with Peridex. Therefore, rinse with the Peridex one-hour before or after toothpaste use, or discontinue toothpaste use with toothbrushing. Peridex is an antibacterial agent and will help keep the healing surgical areas clean. DO NOT BE ALARMED if Peridex causes tooth staining or changes taste perception. The STAIN IS REMOVABLE and taste sensation will return when Peridex is discontinued. In addition to the Peridex rinsing, (or is Peridex was not prescribed), using a medium or soft bristle toothbrush, and exercise great care to prevent trauma form your toothbrush to the surgical site. Surgical Dressing Following certain surgical procedures, a periodontal dressing may be used to cover and protect the surgical site. If a dressing was placed in your mouth, try not to disturb it with hard foods or by brushing. It is common for pieces of the dressing material to come loose. If this occurs within the first two days following surgery, call the office. The area may need to be re-dressed. If the dressing comes loose after this time, continue with proper oral hygiene as outlined above. Activity Avoid driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery when taking pain medications. Limit moderate and high physical activity for two weeks following surgery. This includes jogging or running, aerobics, and heavy housework. Walking and light housework is permitted as tolerated. Alcohol and Tobacco Refrain form alcohol consumption for 24 hours following surgery and 48 hours if IV anesthetics were used. Smoking severely compromises tissue healing. Refrain from smoking for at least 2 weeks following surgery. Post Surgery Diet Suggestions Below is a list of foods that will be easy for you to consume during the healing period. It is very important that you eat well balanced, nutritional meals. This is not a proper time to diet or restrict caloric intake. Following periodontal (gum) surgery a soft diet is recommended. Following dental implant surgery a LIQUID DIET is MANDATORY. This is vital following dental implant surgery to prevent premature implant loading and failure. Suggestions:
Suggestions: 2000-4000 calories per day is recommended following surgery. To supplement caloric intake try the nutritional drinks (i.e. Ensure, Sustical), available at most supermarkets. Aviod spicy or highly seasoned foods. They can irritate tissues. Increase consumption of liquids. Remember your follow-up visitIt is often advisable to return for a postoperative visit to make certain healing is progressing satisfactorily. A follow-up visit will be scheduled. In the meantime, maintain a healthful diet, observe rules for proper oral hygiene, and visit your dentist for regular checkups.
WARNING: FOR FEMALE PATIENTS ON BIRTH CONTROL PILLS Some antibiotics and other medications have been shown to reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. |
