What Should I Avoid After an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery?
Posted on 1/2/2024 by Greater Charlotte Oral and Facial Surgery |
 Complete recovery after an oral surgery is crucial for long-lasting results. While it is normal to have some anxiety about what to expect post-surgery, with the best practices, your journey to recovery will be smooth. Read on for what to avoid after oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Avoid Overexertion
After surgery, your surgeon will advise you to have someone with you to help you with basic tasks to minimize strains post-surgery. Help is necessary because pulling, pushing, and exercising can cause pressure, which may trigger bleeding, increase swelling, or prevent the formation of the necessary blood clots at the surgical site.
Foods to Avoid
Spicy, acidic, and hot foods can irritate your gum tissue post-surgery and delay healing, and you should avoid them for at least a week. Also, avoid sticky, hard foods, which can break into pieces or cling to your teeth and irritate the surgical site.
Avoid Smoking and Drinking Alcohol
Smoking will restrict your blood flow, slow the healing process, and affect the overall surgical procedure; hence, avoid it during the healing process. On the other hand, alcohol will conflict with your medication, weaken your clots, or thin your blood, causing delayed healing. Therefore, while your surgeon will advise refraining from alcohol for the first 48 hours, refraining during the entire healing process is the most ideal.
Do Not Disrupt the Surgical Site
Activities like spitting, using a straw, or rinsing your mouth aggressively within the first 72 hours can loosen your blood clots and cause bleeding. Hence, avoid them. Also, avoid touching the surgical site with your toothbrush, floss, or fingers, as this may irritate it. Dirty hands in your mouth or food that has not been carefully removed can also introduce infection into the surgical site.
Request for a Consultation
Knowing the dos and donts post-surgery is critical to proper preparation and planning. Contact our offices today for more information on preparing for oral and maxillofacial surgery and recovery.
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