It is important to discuss all medication with Optima Dental during your pre-surgical consultation. In most cases medication should be continued unless specifically instructed to withhold them. Typically Plavix, Aspirin, Coumadin and other types of blood thinners can also be continued. When necessary Optima Dental will consult with your physician to safely manage your medications.
The length of surgery depends on your treatment. Some surgery's are less than 30 minutes, while other procedures may take considerably longer. Optima Dental will provide you with the estimated time of surgery at your pre-surgical consultation.
If treatment calls for the patient to be sedated then yes there are food and/or drink restriction. The patient must not consume anything, including water for 6-8 hours prior to surgery.
We commonly use antibiotics to kill bacteria found in the mouth, which will also prevent infection after treatment, particularly with the placement of dental implants immediately after extracted teeth. The specific drug used depends on the medical profile and well being of the patient and the type of treatment.
After the tooth is extracted, you may feel some pain and experience some swelling. An ice pack or an unopened bag of frozen peas or corn applied to the area will keep swelling to a minimum. Take pain medications as prescribed. The swelling usually subsides after 48 hours. In some treatments there may be some minor bruising; however, in procedures such as dental implant placement ordinarily there is no bruising seen. For teeth removal or jaw procedures, women and/or very light skinned patients may experience slight bruising. Taking blood thinner will help reduce bruising. It is, however, not uncommon to have a black eye or discolored cheek or neck following extensive procedures. Optima Dental will discuss what bruising if any would be related to your procedure treatment.
Procedure and patient health are determining factors of what antibiotic and/or medication will be prescribed. Call the office if the medication does not seem to be working. If antibiotics are prescribed, continue to take them for the indicated length of time, even if signs and symptoms of infection are gone. Drink lots of fluid and eat nutritious soft food on the day of the extraction. You can eat normally as soon as you are comfortable. Optima Dental will discuss what, when, how long and dosage with you in both the pre-surgery and post surgery interviews.