Reducing Swelling after Oral Surgery
Swelling is a common after effect of oral surgery. Swelling often peaks two to three days following a procedure and can be a very uncomfortable part of the recovery process. Although you can’t prevent this bodily reaction, there are some simple steps you can take to reduce swelling and decrease discomfort after oral surgery.
Use a Cold Compress
For the first 24 hours following oral surgery, cold ice packs or compresses should be used to manage swelling and pain. Wrap a few cubes of ice, an ice pack, or even a bag of frozen vegetables in a towel so that the cold will not be in direct contact with your skin. Hold the cold source against the outside of your face, nearest to where the surgery occurred, and keep it there for 15 minutes. You should follow a cycle of 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. If you had a surgery involving more than one area of the mouth (for example, if you had wisdom teeth on both sides of your mouth removed), you can use the 15-minute cycles to alternate between the two swollen areas. Cold therapy becomes less effective after 24 hours, and the next step of reducing swelling is to switch to heat.
Switch to Heat
Swelling will reach its peak around two to three days following surgery. At this time, you should begin using heat to reduce swelling and discomfort (but do not use heat before this point). Moist heat is less irritating to your skin and allows the blood vessels to expand, letting them carry away the fluids that cause swelling. Just like with cold treatments, wrap a heat source (like a hot water bottle) in a towel and apply it to the swollen area in 20-minute intervals. Apply heat for 20 minutes, then leave it off for another 20 and repeat. It may still take several days for swelling to fully reduce, but moist heat will help speed up the process.
Rest and Elevation
Abundant rest is essential after any type of surgery, oral surgery included. Overexerting yourself can dislodge blood clots that form as your mouth heals, and resting will allow your immune system to focus on taking care of your surgery site. Another way to reduce swelling is to ensure that your head is always elevated. Sitting up or lying down with your head elevated can help reduce swelling by preventing blood pressure from building up. If your head is flat or even lower than the rest of your body, blood can pool at the surgical site, making swelling worse. By staying elevated, you allow the blood to continue to flow down and away from the surgical site, thus keeping swelling to a minimum.
Rinse With Salt Water
A salt water rinse serves two important purposes. First, it helps to keep the surgical area clean. The salt acts as an antibacterial agent, killing any bacteria that might otherwise attack vulnerable wounds. It can even draw out any infection that may be starting. The rinse is also quite effective at reducing swelling. Mix one teaspoon of salt into a glass of warm water, and rinse gently four times a day. Be sure to not rinse too hard so that you do not disrupt the healing process.
Practice Proper Care After Oral Surgery
Swelling is inevitable following any surgical procedure, but if you take the right steps, you can help reduce swelling and promote your body’s healing process. Be sure to follow the instructions given by your oral surgeon after your procedure, and speak with them about other ways to reduce swelling and make the healing process as easy and pain-free as possible. The specialists at St. Luke’s OMS are well-versed in performing many oral surgery procedures and can provide you with the guidance you need for a successful recovery. If you have any questions about common oral surgical procedures or how to reduce swelling after oral surgery, please feel free to contact us today.
tbsmo2018-12-27T19:30:53+00:00It’s not uncommon for teenagers to have their wisdom teeth removed as they come in, especially if they’re getting impacted or crowding other teeth and causing misalignment issues. However, there are also plenty of adults who elect to have their wisdom teeth removed later on.
For some, removing them is unnecessary if they grow fine and have no impact on other teeth. That said, the fact that they’re in the back of your mouth can make them hard to clean, leading to issues like cavities. At some point, it may be in your best interest to have them removed.
Whether you go under general anesthesia for this process or the extractions are simple enough that your wisdom teeth can be pulled like normal teeth with little more than Novocain, you will experience some downtime following the procedure. It generally takes at least two weeks for your mouth to fully heal, and you’ll have some swelling for the first 2-4 days following the extraction.
How can you reduce swelling and speed the healing process after tooth removal? You can take several steps to facilitate recovery and keep pain and swelling to a minimum.
Rest and Recover
This is very important – you must plan to rest for at least a few days following wisdom tooth extraction. It’s best to avoid strenuous activity and give yourself adequate time to heal. First and foremost, you need to make sure the bleeding subsides, and blood clots form so the sockets can start to heal.
If you’re up and at them the same day or the day after, you could reopen wounds and increase bleeding, healing time, and risk of infection. Spending a couple of days on the couch, packing your mouth with gauze, and taking other precautions is the best way to ensure proper healing and minimize swelling and potential discomfort.
Anti-Inflammatory Medication
After any surgery, pain symptoms are to be expected. With proper treatment, you can avoid the onset of pain. Anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen will help reduce swelling and alleviate discomfort, but depending on your threshold for pain, you may also want to take the painkillers your dentist prescribes.
Often, you can take them simultaneously or trade them off to maximize benefits. Some patients don’t need painkillers, and ibuprofen does the trick. You’ll want to ensure you start taking it before the anesthesia completely wears off and continue taking it at regular intervals after that. In other words, get ahead of the pain if you want to control it.
Icing
Swelling is a normal bodily response to trauma, such as tooth removal, but you can help control it in various ways. One of the best options is using ice packs, which will not only address the swelling but also help to numb the area if you’re experiencing some pain.
You never want to put ice directly on your skin, so wrap your ice pack in a thin towel. You can apply it for about 20 minutes if it’s comfortable and then remove it for about 20 minutes before reapplying. This could help immensely during the first couple of days after surgery.
Stick to Soft Foods
The last thing you want to do is stab your healing sockets with something hard or sticky, so eating only soft foods in the days following the removal of wisdom teeth is best. Cold, soft foods like ice cream, Jell-O, pudding, and yogurt can be especially soothing during the first couple of days, after which you can start adding mashed potatoes, pasta, eggs, and other soft foods that are more filling and nourishing.
Sipping milkshakes might be a good idea, but you must avoid using straws for at least a few days. Using a straw’s suction could damage blood clots in the sockets, causing them to come loose and set off bleeding again.
Clean Carefully
Cleaning can be tough for several days following oral surgery, so you’ll want to follow your dentist’s instructions to a tee. For the first few days, you’ll use saltwater rinses, after which you can probably begin brushing, as long as you’re careful to avoid the sockets. Your dentist may provide you with a small syringe that you can use to gently flush the area around the sockets to remove food and bacteria until they are fully healed.