After Treatment:

On the day of the surgery, take it easy for the rest of the day.  Avoid any heavy lifting, exercise, or strenuous activity that might increase your heart rate and circulation, rest as much as possible.  Smoking and alcohol consumption delay wound healing and should be avoided for several days after surgery.  Eat only soft foods; nothing difficult to chew, hot or spicy.  Continue to keep activity to a minimum and maintain a soft diet for the first 5 days.

Apply cold pressure alternating, ON for 15 minutes and OFF for 15 minutes, for the rest of the day.  Moist heat applications to your face are recommended on the second and third post-surgical days.

Starting the day after the surgery, you should begin rinsing twice a day for 30 seconds with the prescribed PERIDEX (chlorhexidine) mouth rinse.  Continue to rinse twice a day for at least 1 week after the completion of your surgery.

Post-surgical pain will be at its peak when the anesthetic wears off.  Prescribed medications are to be obtained and taken immediately.  If antibiotics are prescribed, they are to be taken until gone.  Prescription medications for pain are recommended for the day of surgery and to be used only as needed on the days following the surgery. Ibuprofen, which can be purchased over the counter (brand names – Advil^™ and Motrin^™ ), is also very effective.  For patients who can take ibuprofen, we recommend taking up to 800mg every 6-8 hours for the first few days following surgery. If you develop any unusual reactions (e.g., itching, rash, breathing difficulties, nausea, etc.) please stop taking the medication and call the office immediately.

Some swelling and facial skin discoloration (bruising) may appear following surgery and will gradually disappear in a few days.  The swelling will be greatest on the second and third days after surgery.  Some oozing of blood from the surgical site is normal during the day and evening following the surgery.  If severe bleeding occurs, please call our office.

DO NOT suck through a straw, rinse your mouth, or brush your teeth for the remainder of the day following surgery.  If you were informed that bone graft material was placed as part of your procedure, do not use a straw for a full week following surgery to prevent the graft from being disrupted.

Avoid manipulation of your facial tissues as much as possible.  DO NOT raise your lip or retract your cheeks to look at the surgical site.  It is possible to tear loose the stitches accidentally, which will open the incision, cause significant pain and substantially delay the healing process.  Try to sleep on your back, or away from the side on which your surgery was performed.

The sutures (stitches) should be removed in 3-5 days to ensure proper healing.  It is important that you return at the appointed time for suture removal.  This appointment is short, relatively easy, and local anesthetic is usually not necessary.

Are There Any Potential Problems After Treatment?

• Lower teeth and nerve injury. There is a slight possibility that nerve injury can occur during root canal surgery to the lower posterior teeth. Your endodontist is trained to assess this possibility prior to treatment and will advise you accordingly. For lower posterior teeth, the root tips may be near a nerve that supplies feeling to the lip, chin and gums. Your endodontist is trained to design your surgery to minimize the chances of damaging this nerve. Rarely, this nerve can become irritated during the process of surgery. In these cases, when the local anesthesia wears off, you may experience tingling, altered sensation or, in rare cases a complete lack of feeling in the affected tissues. Should this occur, it is usually temporary and will resolve over a period of days, weeks or months. In rare cases, these changes can be permanent and/or painful.
• Upper teeth and sinus communication. The upper teeth are situated near your sinuses, and root canal surgery can result in a communication between your mouth and the adjacent sinus. Should this complication occur, it will usually heal spontaneously. We will give you special instructions if this is apparent at the time of surgery. We prefer that you don’t blow your nose for two to three days after surgery. If you have to sneeze, you should sneeze with an open mouth into a tissue. You should not create any pressure in the sinus area. If you sense a complication after surgery, please contact us.
• Post-operative infections. Post-operative infections occasionally occur. This usually requires just an office visit and examination. Many times placing you on an antibiotic for one week will take care of the infection Occasionally, other follow-up procedures will be needed.