Post-Operative Instructions

Following Extractions with Placement of an Immediate Denture

DO NOT remove denture for 24 hours following your surgery

  1. Remove gauze from extraction site in 90-minutes.
  2. Take pain medication, please eat something soft (ex: pudding, applesauce, frosty) PRIOR to taking your pain medicine. Pain medication is prescribed to be taken every 6 hours. It is also recommended to take 600mg of Ibuprofen in between the pain medicine dosages. This will cut back on the amount of pain medication that is being taken and keeps the patient’s pain control at a good steady level.
  3. If the extraction site is dry, NOT oozing blood you may leave the gauze out. If the extraction site is still bleeding replace with clean gauze at 90-minute intervals until you are no longer oozing blood.
  4. A normal diet can may be resumed the following day.
  5. Apply ice if instructed to do so.
  6. Please rinse with warm salt water after eating for 7 to 10 days.
  7. Resume normal oral hygiene 24 hours following surgery.
  8. Avoid tobacco, carbonated beverages and drinking through a straw for 3 days following surgery
  9. Please keep head elevated above the body for 24 hours as this will help with bleeding and swelling.
  10. No bending, lifting, strenuous activity for 5 to 7 days as this will help with bleeding and swelling
  11. Apply ice/cold compress for the first 72 hours. You can switch to warm moist heat on day four if swelling occurs
  12. AFTER 24 hours you may remove your denture and rinse with warm saltwater and clean your denture. You will need to place them back in after cleaning and continue doing this for the next week. (If dentures are left out for more than a few minutes the gum tissue may swell which will cause difficulty placing the denture back in.)

Most patients will require multiple adjustments to their denture while the gums are healing. It’s important to have a follow up appointment 1 to 3 days after surgery with the dentist that fabricated your denture to avoid sore spots from forming.

For your convenience, we have made these instructions in PDF format for download:

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