Pre-Operative FAQ
General Instructions for Periodontal Surgeries
Welcome to your appointment at our periodontal surgical office. Our joint purpose is to assure the exchange of information that is critical to prepare for surgery and the healing process afterward. My staff and I must elicit personal and medical information from you to care for you properly. You need to be fully informed about your decision and understand the guidelines you must follow to ensure an optimal result. The successful outcome we both seek will be enhanced by your willingness to join us in a mutually responsible partnership. We will be with you all the way — sharing our surgical skills and genuine concern for you and your ultimate result. Additional materials will be explained to you in detail by a member of our patient coordinator team who you will have an appointment with for your pre-operative surgical visits. Feel free to ask questions. It is essential to you and us that your questions are answered thoroughly before you undergo surgery. This information has been prepared especially for you, and we hope you will read it carefully. As we embark, we want you not only to be informed but also to feel secure. Speaking for the staff and myself, we appreciate your confidence in us. I can assure you I will do my utmost to achieve the result you desire.
PARQ: The risks, benefits, and alternatives, including the consequence of declining treatment, will be explained to your satisfaction by the doctor and her team.
Our PARQ includes the following:
- We will provide you with detailed instructions that you agree to comply with all written and verbal instructions if you proceed with the procedures recommended, and if you decline care, you understand you assume full responsibility.
- Our patients receive oral hygiene instruction that helps understand that they may develop new conditions or issues not found or diagnosed at the initial exam or that emerge after the exam, and this will require a new exam. Dental disease is progressive.
- We talk about risks of delaying care. By delaying treatment recommended by the doctor, the conditions diagnosed or found may and can get worse ultimately leading to the loss of your tooth or teeth.
- In patients diagnosed with the periodontal disease to prevent re-infection, we stress the importance of periodontal cleanings and have patients return within 90 days for infection control regardless of dental plan coverage. Three-month periodontal maintenance visits are imperative to proper long-term success. We will follow you closely for the first year after your periodontal surgery. Your general dentist is responsible for all other dental services you may need. If you use tobacco products you have an increased risk of infection, there may be a failure of the treatment performed and poor healing.
- If it is okay with your physician, please avoid taking aspirin for one week before your appointment (aspirin can cause easy bleeding). If your physician wishes for you to stay on aspirin or other blood thinners, then please follow the physician’s instructions and inform us of this. It is possible to perform LANAP but may take additional time.
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine or other stimulants for 24 hours before your appointment (alcohol can prevent complete anesthesia or numbing of the treated area and stimulants may interfere with any sedatives used).
- Take antibiotic pre-medication, if required per your physician as prescribed.
- If you are a patient who suffers from seasonal allergies and has post nasal drip- Please consider purchasing “AFRIN” to use before your surgery. This will make your appointment much more pleasant as you will be laid back for most of the duration of your surgical visit.
- Get a good night’s sleep the night before.
- Eat breakfast and lunch the day of your appointment. Unless you are receiving oral sedation (a pill to help you relax through the procedure) or IV sedation.
- If you do not have diabetes or have high blood pressure, please do not eat 4-6 hours before the procedures as the medication works better on an empty stomach.
- If you are receiving oral sedation and you have diabetes or have high blood pressure, please make sure it is a light meal, just enough to “tide you over.”
- Unless instructed otherwise, take all prescription medication as prescribed by your Dr and as Written by the Pharmacy.
It is advised that you take the remainder of the day off work after surgery, keeping your activities low. In most cases, you should be able to return to your regular routine by the next day.
Stop all supplemental vitamins: i.e., Vit E, Fish Oil, Ginseng, Garlic, Gingko, Glucosamine/Chondroitin, etc. 7 days before your surgery.
POST- DIET INSTRUCTIONS & OTHER POST OP INFORMATION
A softer diet may be recommended, i.e., eggs, pasta, rice, fish, avoiding harder foods that could damage or work their way under the surgical tissue. Feel free to eat before your surgery (if you are getting IV sedation-DO NOT EAT AFTER MIDNIGHT), as you will need to take medications before your appointment and it will help to avoid possible nausea, and gastric irritation-just make it a light meal! See other oral/IV sedation consents as there is specific sedation instruction required from you and your driver.
- For the first two days following surgery, follow ONLY a liquid-like diet to allow healing for all soft-tissue grafts AND three days for LANAP surgeries. Extractions and dental implant patients need to be on a mushy food diet for 7-10 days.
- All other surgeries follow a soft food diet for the first two weeks.
- DO NOT OBSESS OVER THE APPEARANCE OF THE GUM GRAFT.
- Anything that could be put in a blender to drink is ideal. The purpose of this is to protect the clot that is acting as a “band-aid” between the gum and the teeth. DO NOT drink through a straw, as this creates a vacuum in your mouth that can disturb the “band-aid.”
- Take daily vitamins.
- Four to seven days after treatment, eat food with a “mushy” consistency.
- Seven to ten days after treatment, allowable soft foods may have the consistency of pasta, fish, chicken, or steamed vegetables. You may then gradually add back your regular diet choices at your 12-14 day post-op visit. Please remember hard, and crunchy foods may need to be avoided up to 3 weeks post-surgery. Please remember that even after ten days, healing is not complete. The first month following treatment, you should continue to make smart food choices. Softer foods are better.
Please avoid HOT food and beverages 24hours post-surgery!
DIET SUGGESTIONS
- Anything put through the food blender (that does not have seeds)
- Cream of wheat, Oatmeal, Malt O Meal (not thick and pasty)
- Mashed Bananas, mashed avocado, applesauce
- Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes with butter/sour cream – just not thick and pasty
- Broth and Creamed soups
- Mashed yams, sweet potatoes, squash ( not thick and pasty)
- Cottage cheese, cream cheese, and soft cheeses
- Eggs of any style with or without melted cheese, Omelets with avocado and cheese
- Jell-O, pudding, ice cream (soft serve), and yogurt
- Milkshakes, smoothies ( no nuts or seeds)
- Ensure, Slim fast, protein drinks/nutritional drinks
DO NOT EAT
- Chewing gum/Candy
- Cookies
- Chips
- Nuts
- Anything Hard
- Anything Crunchy
- Anything with SEEDS
- Anything with hard pieces
- Raw vegetables/Salad
- Meat that shreds and can lodge under gums and between teeth
- POPCORN
- NO chewing/crunching on ice
POST-SURGICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISCOMFORT AND MEDICATIONS
- Please take medications as directed on the bottle or by Dr. Drake. Variation from the prescribed regimen can affect healing and success of the surgical procedure.
- You have been prescribed Ibuprofen or Ketoprofen as the go-to pain medication. If necessary, you may take acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) in addition to ibuprofen prescribed if you have break-through pain. Follow the instructions on the Tylenol bottle. Usually, one 500 mg taken every 4-6 hours, also, the ibuprofen provides better pain control than most narcotics. Do not let pain get out of control by following a dosing schedule the first three days after this procedure. Take as needed after that.
- The majority of the discomfort is typically within the first 24-72 hours following surgery.
- Pain medication has been prescribed and is best started before the numbness wears off. If taking a narcotic, it is recommended to take it with food, avoid alcohol, and do not drive.
- Antibiotics are to be taken until gone unless otherwise directed. It is recommended to take probiotics to decrease gastrointestinal problems. Florastor and Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra Probiotics are both very useful brands.
- Call if you experience a rash, itchiness, severe dizziness, difficulty breathing, fever, or diarrhea.
- This procedure is routinely completed without the need for narcotics as we use the latest materials which reduce pain, speed up healing, and assist with regeneration of blood cells and vessels. We also use “Arnica Montana” AKA SinEcch which is a natural (professional strength surgical recovery regimen) in addressing pain, swelling, and bruising. In combination with these two using the oxy rinse and gel that is given Graft sites and palate were tissue is taken from often have a minor level of pain/discomfort.
- If by chance after you have had your surgery, and you have followed all the post-operative instructions, have taken the prescribed pain medications as directed you are still having moderate to severe pain/discomfort, please call our office so that Dr. Drake may review your medications listed, allergies if any are listed so she can determine what pain medication would be best for you.