How Long Does It Take for Oral Surgery to Stop Hurting?
The fear of God strikes some hearts whenever they hear that they need to undergo oral surgery in Concord, CA. However, there is no need to fear oral surgery procedures since they are necessary to ensure that your oral health is okay.
If you have mustered the courage and have gone through your oral surgery, you must be wondering what happens afterward. In a nutshell, self-care plays a huge role in how quickly you recover.
If you have had your teeth pulled or gotten new implants or went through any other oral surgical procedure, you need to take care of your teeth so that you can avoid infection and reduce pain.
How Long After Oral Surgery Does the Pain Last?
As mentioned earlier, your main concern after oral surgery is recovery. Nothing breaks the heart, like when you have to deal with trauma or infection post-surgery. Dealing with the issues may seem that recovery is a far-fetched idea.
One of the things that you can expect after undergoing surgery is some bleeding. Light bleeding is quite normal and will last close to 24 hours post-surgery. Be careful with the surgery site because clot formation won’t happen if you disturb the area.
Another thing that you can anticipate is swelling after oral surgery. If you have an ice pack, you should be alright. However, swelling doesn’t just disappear; it might take up to 7 to 10 days before it goes down. Some patients may sometimes experience some stiffness in the face, lasting about ten days.
If you had your wisdom tooth extracted, slight bruising might occur, but it improves after a week or so.
When it comes to pain after oral surgery, it will vary significantly depending on the type of surgery. However, don’t fret! Our oral surgeon near you will prescribe medication to help you manage the pain.
Pain is inevitable after oral surgery, and you will start feeling it once the anesthetic wears off. With adequate care, though, you should be able to get through the process without any issues. Pain should start to ease after 48 hours or so. If you notice that your pain continues even after using pain medication after 48 hours, then you may need to check in with our oral surgeon near you.
Tips to Recover From Oral Surgery
Usually, the first two days after surgery are critical since these hours set the pace for your recovery. So, you will need to know what to do to heal as you should. Look at some of the recovery tips that will help you recover much faster:
- Rest
After your surgery, take some time to rest. You will likely receive a sedative, which will make it difficult for you to function as you should. Don’t drive and avoid any form of strenuous activity.
It is best to steer clear of any activity that might cause the clot to dislodge and cause bleeding. So, elevate your head when you sleep and try not to sleep on the sore side.
- Use Ice
One of the best remedies to use post-surgery is ice. Your face may swell or have some bruising, which is normal and should be anticipated. So, the best way to deal with it is by applying an ice pack to your jaw within the first 24 hours post-surgery.
Place it on the swollen jaw for 30 minutes, and then remove it for another 15 minutes. You can repeat this for about two hours or so. You could switch from side to side if you had surgery on either side of the mouth.
If you do this for a day or two, you will notice that the swelling will decrease after three days. Contact us immediately if the swelling doesn’t go down or you get a fever.
- Watch What You Eat
Your mouth will be sore, swollen, and in pain after surgery. So, you will need to take foods and drinks that will not make whatever you’re feeling worse. Therefore, avoid hot, hard, spicy, tough, or chewy foods. Eat cool and soft foods such as yogurt.
- Stick to the Instructions
You will get a set of instructions that you will need to follow so that your recovery goes as expected. So, take your medications to ease the pain and prevent bacterial infections, remember to guard the clot, and any other thing you have been instructed.
You must check-in with us for post-surgery follow-up visits. This is necessary to ensure that everything is okay. In case of anything, contact us at Concord Dental & Orthodontics, and you can get all the help you need.