If you have corrective jaw surgery scheduled, how you take care of yourself will determine how quickly you heal from your surgery.
#1 Schedule A Post-Operative Visit
You need to schedule a post-operative visit with your surgeon to make sure that everything is healing up well and that your body is responding to the surgery as it should. You should have a follow-up visit within a week of your surgery. If you have any questions about your recovery, you should feel free to call your doctor with any follow-up care instructions that you need.
#2 Take Your Medication
Your doctor may give you medication to take to go along with the surgery. Generally, this medication will help ensure that you don't develop an infection following your surgery. Your doctor may also give you something to manage your pain. Prescription strength ibuprofen is a common way to manage pain and swelling.
Prescription ibuprofen is just a stronger dose than you get over the counter, allowing you to take a few pills to reach the intended dosage. Be sure to discuss with your doctor what type of pain medication you should be taking and any other medications you need to take as well.
#3 Work to Reduce Swelling
You can help reduce the swelling of the surgery site by icing throughout the day. You are going to want to purchase some crushed ice or some frozen bags of pees. Frozen peas are great to use because they are flexible and stay cold for a long time. You can also purchase some ice packs to use as well.
When you ice, wrap the ice or ice-pack in a towel. You don't want to put the ice directly against your skin, as that can be a little too cold. Keep the eye on your skin for about fifteen to twenty minutes, then give your face a break. Continue to ice throughout the day. The more frequently you ice, the sooner your swelling should go down.
#4 Take Care of Your Dental Hygiene
Oral surgery is not a good reason to skip your dental hygiene. You are going to need to modify your routine a little bit. You are going to want to rinse your mouth with mouthwash at least two times a day. Brush your teeth carefully and gently with a baby toothbrush; don't get too aggressive but try to keep things clean. You can also use warm salt water rinses for hygiene and comfort purposes.
Be sure to also talk to your doctor before your surgery about how to take care of yourself after surgery. Go over this information before your surgery date, so you have time to ingest and remember the information.
Share18 November 2017
Hi, my name is Kevin Nelson and I want to tell you about my experience. I had a painful tooth so I went to see my dentist. After the examination, he said that I needed to have a root canal to save the tooth. I told the dentist to just pull the tooth instead and then he explained why that wasn't a good idea. He said that pulling the tooth would cause additional problems and then he told me what could happen. I didn't want any more problems, so the dentist did the root canal and I'm glad that he did. I wanted to write a blog to tell others about the benefits of a root canal and what to expect during the procedure. I hope that by getting the word out, other people won't make the same mistake that I almost did by getting a perfectly good tooth pulled.