Oral Surgery

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The word “surgery” often brings to mind a stay in the hospital, general anesthesia, and perhaps a lengthy recovery period. However, the experience of having oral surgery is usually very different from that. Oral surgery is often performed in a dental office setting, under local anesthesia, with minimal recovery time. Oral Surgery can range from routine procedures such as tooth extractions and implant placement to more complex jaw realignment surgeries and emergency care for facial trauma.

Oral Surgery Procedures

Oral surgery procedures may be performed to relieve pain, treat an infection or trauma, restore function or improve a person's appearance. Procedures and conditions treated include:

Tooth Extractions:

After having a tooth extracted, your child will be numb for 2-3 hours. Please be aware that this numbness feels funny to your child. He/she may chew, bite, suck, or rub the cheek or area that is numb. Please do not allow them to do this as they may cause injury or discomfort to their cheek.

Do not allow the child to eat until the numbness wears off. A self-inflicted bite injury is the most common post-op complication, please keep an eye on your child!

Your child is biting on a piece of gauze. We will send you home with extra. Please make sure your child is biting on this gauze to apply constant pressure to the extraction site, this will slow the bleeding and eventually stop it. Please change the gauze when the piece your child is biting on becomes saturated. Remove the old piece and discard, take a clean piece and fold it into quarters and place into the spot where the tooth was removed. When you take out gauze when that looks fairly clean (very little blood) you should stop using the gauze. If bleeding persists for longer that 3-4 hours please call our office for further instructions.

Please do not allow your child to use a straw for the rest of today. The suction can possibly dislodge the clot that has formed in the extraction site.

When you get home please give your child a pain reliever such as children’s Tylenol, Advil or Motrin as directed, before the numbness wears off to keep your child from experiencing any discomfort.

Your child should eat only soft, bland food for the first couple days-nothing sharp, crunchy or too hot or cold because the area may be sensitive. Encourage plenty of liquids (Water, soups, juices, etc.)

A clean mouth heals faster. Gentle brushing around the extraction site can be started this evening.

Cleft Lip/Palate. These birth defects are among the most common, estimated to affect around one in 700-800 babies born in North America. With proper surgical treatment, the child has an excellent chance of leading a healthy, normal life.

What to expect

Your child will be numb for 2-3 hours. Please be aware that this numbness feels funny to your child and they may even complain of discomfort. He/She may chew, bite, suck, or rub the area that is numb. Please do not allow your child to do this as it will cause injury or discomfort after the numbness wears off. A self-inflicted bite injury is the most common post-op complication. Please keep an eye on your child!

If your child does bite/chew his/her cheek, it may swell and you may notice a white area on the inside cheek or tongue area. These white areas are oral scabs. There is no treatment for this other than to allow this area to heal on it’s own. This may take 5-7 days. Children’s pain reliever or a topical numbing spray may help with the discomfort.

We will send extra cotton rolls/ "tooth pillows" home for your child to bite on. These will help to keep him/her from biting their cheek. Please try to have your child bite on the cotton rolls until their numbness has gone away. When the cotton becomes soaked with saliva you may replace with a dry one.

If your child shows signs of pain or discomfort, you may choose to administer an over-the-counter children’s pain reliever such as Tylenol, Advil, or Motrin as directed on the bottle.

If your child received a stainless steel crown/ "silver cap" be aware that the gum tissue around the crown may be sore or inflamed. Keep this area clean with normal brushing and flossing to avoid further inflammation.

Helping your child to take care of their dental work is important. Your child should avoid sticky candies, a few examples of such candies include Now and Laters, Tootsie Rolls, Carmel, Laffy Taffy, Milk Duds, Sugar Daddies, Gummi Bears, Bit O Honey and Jolly Ranchers. Also gums containing sugar should be avoided.

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