After Dental Extraction/ Operation Care

Dear Patient and Parents,                                             

Well Done! You have successfully completed a small surgical procedure today. 

While you are still comfortably numb from the local anesthetic, here are a few post-op instructions to get you through the next few days: 

• Before the local anesthetic wears out, please take the prescribed painkillers to minimize discomfort. Do  take the painkillers at the prescribed dosage and frequency for the next few days. Pain and discomfort is the most in the first 3 days and gradually reduces thereafter.
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• If antibiotics were prescribed to you, please complete the course unless you develop an allergic reaction, which you must inform us immediately. 
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• No Chinese or homeopathy supplements when you are taking our prescribed medications to avoid drug interactions. 

• Before the local anesthetic wears out, be careful not to chew the numb lip or drink very hot liquids as you may hurt yourself unknowingly.  

Place a piece of folded gauze over the wound and bite down firmly for 20 minutes to stop the bleeding. Tuck the gauze neatly on the socket and close your lips around it. Do not let the gauze stick out of the mouth like a cigarette. Change the gauze if it gets too wet and bite firmly for another 20 minutes. Repeat if necessary. If active bleeding (thick bright red blood and clots) persists despite a few tries, please call the clinic number during office hours or head down to the nearest hospital A&E department after office hours.   

For Invisalign Extractions:

It is ok to start wearing the aligners the next day after extractions, or at least at night to sleep for the next few days to prevent unwanted tooth movements. Aim to start full time aligner wear ASAP. Please keep aligners and the teeth around the extraction site clean for good wound healing.

• It is normal to have a ‘metallic’ taste in your mouth and slightly pink-coloured saliva throughout the day.  It is safe to swallow your saliva. 

• Some facial and intraoral swelling can be expected around the op site for the next 4 to 5 days. There may be slight skin bruising colour around the face and sometimes down the neck. This usually resolves after 7-10 days.  

• Neighbouring teeth may feel slightly shaky after extraction as the bones need to be expanded for the tooth to be taken out. This will resolve after a week.  
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• If stitches were placed during the surgical procedure, do not stretch the lip and cheeks to see the sutures as this can break the sutures. 

• Avoid food that is too hot or hard and eat on the opposite side of the wound.

• Alcohol should not be taken with medications.   

• If you develop any drug allergic reactions such as, eye swelling, rashes or skin itchiness, severe diarrhea and difficulty breathing. Please call the clinic number during office hours or head down to the nearest hospital A&E department after office hours.  

• Do keep the wound clean to avoid infections. Brush gently around the area and use the antiseptic mouthwash gargle twice a day, gargle for 30 seconds and avoid eating/ drinking for 30 minutes after that.  

• DO NOT SMOKE for at least 5 days post op to avoid DRY SOCKET which is a very painful complication commonly associated with post op smoking.  

• Have a good rest. Avoid exercise such as swimming and jogging that can re-start the bleeding for the next 3 days. 

Instructions for Microimplants (TADs)

Microimplants or miniscrews are tiny temporary anchorage devices (TADs) placed intraorally to increase treatment efficiency. 

Follow all the instructions listed above and remember to:  

• Gently clean the exposed head of the TADs. 
• Avoid crunching on hard stuff such as ice cubes and peanuts on the teeth next to the TADs as this can loosen it with time. 
• Avoid pulling at the microimplant heads. 

If you have been given a review appointment, please attend. If you are unable to come, do call the clinic for an alternative date. 

Call us at 6737 9797 during office hours should you encounter any problems or have any questions. 

Just before you go, if you love how we cared for you, do share the love by leaving us a review here. Thank you very, very much!

Cheers always, 

Dr Poon Kee Hwang & The Team at MyBracesClinic