POSTOPERATIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOWING ORAL SURGERY

1. Bite on the sterilized gauze firmly for at least half an hour. No repeats if no bleeding.
2. Keep fingers and tongue away from the operated area. Leave site alone.
3. Do not rinse your mouth for the rest of the day, although it is permissible to drink cool or cold liquids. Do not use a straw. Avoid spitting on the day of surgery.
4. Diet -- Avoid hard food, eat soft food, drink a lot of juice, Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex to protmote healing, preferably cool or cold on the day of surgery.
5. Pain may last for a few days; however should be better over time, take painkillers as needed. Bruises may be present on the face, should resolve in a week (sp) time.
6. Avoid smoking and alcohol consumption for at least 24 hours. Limit your activities: avoid strenuous work or exercise.
7. The sutures being places (sp) at the surgical sites may get loose in five to seven days. In the vents (sp) that no pain, bleeding or discomfort arises, do not need to replace.
8. Expect some post-operative discomfort approximately for 1 week. A prescription may have been written for you, have it filled and take the medication as needed for your pain.
9. Swelling may be due to bleeding beneath oral tissue extending to overlying facial tissue. It will disappear gradually. If desired, ice pad may be applied for the first 4 hours cycle 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off. After 24 hours, apply heat pad or gently rinse with warm saline (1 teaspoonful salt in 8 ounce of water) every 2 hours if desired. Swelling would be at its peak on the day following surgery and will decrease its size in a day or two thereafter.
10. You may experience some tightness on opening your mouth up to a few few weeks and the teeth at the surgery area may be sensitive to hot or cold. It is normal and will improve over time.

So yeah.. what a ride.. a rocky, drill-y, burn-tooth-smell ride. I had to remove only one wisdom tooth, but it was a real battle. Thankfully, all I had to do was lay back and breathe in the nitrous oxide. The name "laughing gas" is quite apt -- I found myself unable to stop myself from giggling, initially. I tried to think serious thoughts but they faded away, blurred out of existence by light-headed clouds shimmering through my skin.

As the dentist and his assistant worked away in my mouth, I began to have panicky thoughts that losing my tooth would drive me insane, as if somehow a part of my brain would be directly affected. Maybe it did affect me, and I've changed in some subtle way that I would never be able to know. Hehehehe!

[Comment on the above]

2010/08/03 Hwan I won't say that all is well (for I don't believe it to be so), but I am better. Thanks to all for asking!
2010/07/20 QYV Expected range for Creatinine for guys is 60 - 110 umol/L
2010/07/20 llamariffic Hmm, macrocytosis here as well, but to be honest I've had it since before I truly embarked on drinking as a proper hobby. Similarly, stopped drinking entirely, and it didn't go away. Just one of those things, I think.
2010/07/19 girl ack!! It's weird to think that I am now a parental unit. It was nice to see you hwan!
2010/05/21 Hwan I recall trying earplugs well back in my undergrad years, to mixed results. My sleep was troubled by feelings of claustrophobia. I also have a, perhaps unfounded, fear of not hearing the essential alarm in the mornings. However, I may give these another go, thanks.
2010/05/21 llamatron Have you tried sleeping with earplugs? My flat faces out onto a main road, so I've started using the standard foam plugs. It took a few nights to get used to them, but they make a big difference.
2010/05/21 girl The original swedish title: "Men who hate women". I'm not sure if it's the fault of the translation, but I never liked the reporter dude.
2001/03/07 Hwan Damn.. it seems Unweb has since died. http://www.gamegrene.com/node/183
2001/03/07 TY SHARDEL YOU CAN TRADE WITH THE UNIVERSE AND ENABLE SOCIAL NEEDS, OR PERHAPS POST WISH LISTS, HUG THE GLOBE LIKE A BIG OCTOPUS... TY
2010/03/24 Hwan I am amused by the John Irving comparison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Irving#Recurring_themes