Instructions Following Oral Bone Grafting Procedures
Take all medications as prescribed.
Do NOT smoke. Smoking will significantly increase your risk of infection and poor healing.
Maintain good oral hygiene. When brushing and flossing your teeth, be very careful in areas where incisions were placed. Trauma from a tooth brush or dental floss can cause any incisions inside your mouth to open up and subsequently cause loss of your bone graft.
You may gently rinse with saline mouth wash. Avoid alcohol based mouth wash such as Scope® or Listerine® because the high concentration of alcohol on incisions inside your mouth can inhibit healing.
Do NOT use water picks to irrigate your gums and teeth until instructed by your doctor. Doing so can cause any incisions inside your mouth to open up.
Eat soft food for the next 10-14 days. Avoid chewing in the area(s) where the bone graft was placed.
Avoid any heavy lifting (>40 lbs), vigorous exercise or contact sports until given permission by the doctor.
In most cases sutures are placed. They usually dissolve and start to come out in 7-10 days.
Sometimes the after effects of surgery are quite minimal, so not all of the instructions may apply. Common sense will often dictate what you should do. However, when in doubt follow these guidelines or call our office for clarification.
Our 24 hr, 7 days a week contact number is 814-235-7700.
Greg F. Kewitt, D.M.D., M.D., F.A.C.S. and the staff of Centre Oral & Facial Surgery specialize in
oral & maxillofacial surgery procedures including dental implants, bone grafting, wisdom tooth
removal, and cosmetic surgery. Our practice is located at 474 Windmere Drive, Ste. 202,
State College, PA 16801
