After an initial interview and a thorough anamnesis, we establish a treatment plan tailored to your needs. To achieve this a few things have to be considered so that you can assist in making the treatment a success.
As soon as you have a treatment plan, treatment can begin. It is important that you understand the individual steps of the treatment plan and keep individual appointments in order to not endanger the therapeutic progress. To help, we have put together some important information for patients. And you can always, of course, ask your treating dentist should you require additional information.
We are required to inform you on a scheduled operation in a comprehensible way. We will discuss the operation and the risks connected to it in great detail. You will also be extensively informed on necessary after-treatments.
For most operations there is detailed information material. What is decisive, however, is the discussion with your attending dentist. We recommend that you formulate your questions in advance and maybe write them down.
At the end of the informed consent discussion you will be given a consent form for the corresponding procedure. This form documents the discussion in keywords. Once you feel adequately informed you sign the consent form. Take this signed form with you to your operation and hand it over to the coordinating office.
You are free to waive the consent discussion, but you must confirm this with your signature.
In every case your fitness for an operation will be examined before the procedure. These findings will be checked by our anaesthesiologists.
Local Anaesthesia
As long as the local anaesthesia remains effective you should not drive vehicles and avoid any activity that could endanger yourself or others. To avoid bite injuries on the still numb tongue, lips or cheeks, you should wait for the anaesthesia to subside completely before having your next meal.
Your Contribution to Wound Healing
Avoid touching the area of the wound. Only one day after the operation should you rinse your mouth after every meal. Sage, camomile and marshmallow root tea are ideally suited for this because they facilitate wound healing. You should also brush your teeth outside of the areas operated only one day after the operation.
Eating and Drinking
In the first two days after the procedure, you should only eat lukewarm (but cooked) and creamy dishes, such as soups or cooked lukewarm vegetables. Avoid alcohol, coffee and nicotine on the day of the operation. You should use your “healthy” side for chewing.
Prescription Drugs and their Use
Drugs that may have been prescribed should be taken according to the dosage prescribed by the treating dentist. Should side-effects arise – allergies, for example – please contact a physician immediately. Please also bear in mind that many drugs – especially painkillers – lower your reaction and concentration capacity and reduce your fitness to drive.
Reduce Swelling
After oral surgery, a swelling visible from the outside as well as haematomas (“bruises”) is quite common for three to five days. No special treatment is needed for this. Swelling can be reduced by applying ice bags on the region above the area operated on (only on the day of the operation). Slight pain in the jaw joint and in the corner of the mouth as well as slight dysphagia are also no reason for concern. These are usually just temporary.
Bleeding: Mostly Harmless
Slight bleeding from the surgical wound is frequent and harmless. It should subside one or two days after the operation. In case of stronger bleeding you should contact a dentist or the School of Dentistry.
Suture Removal: Please Keep your Appointment!
Please don’t forget to keep the appointments for the removal of sutures or disinfectant strips that may have been placed into the wound.
Take Part in Better and Faster Healing!
For better and faster healing, we ask you to closely follow the code of behaviour set forth by your treating dentist for your own interest.
Have you had oral surgery? Please note the following guidelines so that you can assist in speeding up the healing process.
On the Day of the Operation
- Talk as little as possible.
- Cool the affected area: apply cool packs or cold pads for a few hours with breaks in between! Avoid hypothermia.
- Don’t drive: your capacity of reaction may be limited after the local anaesthesia!
- Only consume cold drinks and prescribed drugs after about twenty minutes, after the bleeding has stopped.
- Food: eat only after the local anaesthesia has subsided. The numbness can lead to bite injuries in the areas of lips, cheeks or tongue. Only eat lukewarm, soft dishes. Avoid granular foods (bread crumbs, poppy seed, sesame etc.)
- Every wound needs time to heal! Don’t touch bits of food in the wound. Don’t use toothpicks, don’t touch the wound. Rinse your mouth, as prescribed.
- Avoid the heat!
- No direct sun, no sauna, no solarium, no exposure to red light lamps.
- No cigarettes, no alcohol!
Until the Third Day After the Operation
Swelling and pain may increase until the third day after the operation. Sleep with your torso in a raised position, to avoid strong swelling or pain. Rinse your mouth delicately after every meal: camomile or sage tea is ideal for this. If you were prescribed a mouthwash, use that. From the second day on, thoroughly brush your teeth and gums (sparing the area of the wound). Cold compresses at longer intervals.
Up to Two weeks After Maxillary Surgery
For operations where the maxillary sinus is opened (removal of foreign bodies, root resection, surgical tooth removal, sinus lift surgery, bone augmentation in the upper jaw), the following applies:
The surgical closure of the link between oral cavity and maxillary sinus can tear in case of heightened pressure and noxious germs may enter the sterile maxillary sinus. Therefore:
- Open your mouth when sneezing
- Never hold your nose, or blow your nose
- No muscle sports (machine workouts, weight lifting)
- No swimming
- Avoid air travel (pressure increase!)
- Take Nose Drops and Antibiotics as Prescribed
Take Nose Drops and Antibiotics as Prescribed
- Nose drops
Nasivin nose drops 0.05%: three times a day, one drop in each nostril, for 14 days - Antibiotics
Augmentin 1g: two pills a day or
Dalacin C 300mg: three capsules a day.
Always use the entire pack.
In case of stomach pains, diarrhoea, vaginal fungus, skin rash, please contact us immediately (or your general practitioner)
Disagreeable, but Completely Harmless Ailments
- slight swelling in the area of the jaw or cheeks
- restricted opening of the mouth
- slight pain emanating from the wound
- whitish film in or on the wound
- slight bleeding from the wound
You can stop the bleeding, by biting for 15 minutes on a “pressure dressing” (a humid, clean, rolled cloth handkerchief) or by pressing it on the wound. Should the wound continue to bleed, repeat this treatment.
Notify Us of the Following Ailments Immediately
- swelling with fever
- secondary bleeding
- drug intolerance
Periodontal Dressings
Should you have received a periodontal dressing after the operation, please do not remove it on your own. Usually the dressing remains until the sutures are removed. Please follow the instructions of your surgeon. Should parts of the dressing disintegrate prematurely, carefully remove these parts on your own.
Severe complications (swelling with fever, secondary bleeding) are rare
If necessary, don’t hesitate to seek medical help.
It takes time to learn how to correctly use a prosthesis. The correct handling in the adaptation phase as well as the cleaning of the prosthesis are important elements for your new situation.
Familiarisation
Even if it may be difficult at the beginning: Wear your prosthesis day and night, otherwise it loses its shape. Massage the alveolar crests every day with your toothbrush, for full prostheses use your index. Practice speaking by reading aloud. A mirror can be very useful for this. At the beginning, excessive salivation may occur. This is not unusual and will likely go back to normal after a few days.
In the first couple of days, eat soft non-sticky food. Cut off small portions and use the canine tooth area to bite. Chew slowly and regularly with your posterior teeth until you have adapted to the new situation.
Cleaning the Prosthesis
Take the prosthesis out of your mouth in the morning and at night. Use a soft toothbrush to remove plaque from the telescopic crowns, root pin caps or bars as well as on the oral mucosa, the palate and the alveolar crest. Areas that are hard to reach can also be cleaned with interdental brushes and a Superfloss® floss. For the tongue, there are special tongue cleaners.
The prosthesis itself can be cleaned with a special prosthesis brush or a toothbrush. Use alkaline soap or a prosthesis cleaner. Then carefully rinse the prosthesis with water. As a preparation, it is best to line the sink with a towel or fill it with water so that the prosthesis does not break if it is dropped.
In case of negligent care, inflammations or fungal attacks of the oral mucosa may occur as well as halitosis.
Should you not wear the prosthesis during the night, put it into a glass filled with water so that the plastic doesn’t dry out.
Follow-Up
Please regularly come to follow-up visits for check-ups. During these visits, we don’t just check on how well your prosthesis fits and works, we also examine the entire oral cavity.
The oral mucosa’s structure changes constantly. This is why pressure marks may arise especially at the beginning, at the base or the edge of the prosthesis. Normally these disagreeable pressure marks can be relatively easily removed during the check-up.
Due to the natural reduction of the jawbone, a prosthesis loses its original hold. This can lead to tipping, and even to breaking the prosthesis. To prevent this, the base of your prosthesis needs to be lined at regular intervals. For this, the base of the prosthesis is reconstructed with a plastic material.
Partial Prostheses
Never take out the prosthesis by its brackets because they may loosen or break. Lift the prosthesis on its edge, simultaneously on the left and the right and pull the base up evenly.
Avoid turning or tipping movements when removing the prosthesis. It may end up twisted or even broken. In addition to this, it may lead to damages of the teeth substance, the ceramic part of clasp crowns may splinter. Clasps may break and injure the soft tissue. In the worst case, you might swallow or aspirate a broken-off part of the prosthesis.
Your child needs dental treatment? We provide you with important tips to prepare your child for the dentist’s appointment.
Extensive information on this can be found on the page of the Clinical Division for Paediatric Dentistry.
From a dentist’s point of view, smoking is just as unhealthy. Smoking has some undesirable side-effects for dentition and teeth:
- gingivitis is six times as frequent
- increased bone loss
- increased tooth loss
- increased vulnerability to caries
- delayed wound healing
- increased implant failure
- formation of precancerous conditions (smokers leukoplakia)
- increased risk of cancer
- tooth discolouration