Dental Surgery (General Anesthesia)
Post op Instructions
Your child had dental treatment done under general anesthesia today.
After dental surgery, it is important to supervise your child for the rest of the day. Don't let your child rinse, spit or disturb the surgical site for the rest of the day. Avoid letting them chew on fingers, or sharp objects like toys, sticks, or straws.
Brushing: Start with gentle but thorough brushing the morning after surgery. Sometimes brushing can be sensitive or even cause some bleeding. This is normal. Continue with gentle brushing with medium-light pressure and extra circles on the gums. This removes plaque, bacteria, and it will reduce the inflammation at the gums, helping teeth to feel better faster!
If brushing is sensitive, we recommend running their toothbrush under warm water to make the bristles softer and then gently massaging the gums with the toothbrush with more gentle pressure.
Diet: Start with hydration (water, juice, Gatorade) immediately after surgery, and then start with soft foods (jello, mashed potatoes). Good hydration is important to recovery following surgery. Sometimes anesthesia can make your child's stomach more sensitive for a few hours and a heavy meal could upset it. Continue with soft foods for 1-2 days (pastas, soup, scrambled eggs, yogurt, smoothies, soft cooked veggies). After extractions avoid biting very hard foods (chips, nuts) in this area until the gums have healed in 1-2 weeks. After silver crowns or space maintainer retainers, avoid sticky foods (like gum or hard candies) for 2 days until the cement is completely hardened.
It is ok if your child doesn’t have an appetite the day of surgery and chooses to not eat too much.
It is very important that they stay hydrated, today is a day that they can drink whatever sounds good to them, but we recommend water, juice, or electrolyte replacement drinks.
Medicine: Over-the-counter Tylenol or ibuprofen is recommended for 2-4 days following surgery as long as your child usually tolerates these medications. If your child is unable to tolerate ibuprofen or tylenol please contact us directly or reach out to your pediatrician.
Your child may have a sore throat, sore nose, or sore teeth. Do not use aspirin.
Bleeding: Some bleeding is normal after dental surgery. Bleeding may be present after brushing, eating or sleeping. If bleeding is significant,a clean cloth can be placed over the site and pressure held for 10 minutes (set a timer) either by biting or a parent holding firm pressure. If your child is talking or chewing on the cloth it could make bleeding worse. Biting on a cloth or gauze for more than 10 minutes could make bleeding worse. If the bleeding doesn't stop, please call the office.
Swelling: Some swelling may happen after extensive treatment. You can place ice on the face (20 minutes on and 20 minutes off). If the swelling doesn't go down, or gets worse after 48 hours, please call the office.
Bruising: There may be bruising on the skin or gums. This should go away within a week.
Fever: Sometimes children can get a mild fever after anesthesia. If your child has a fever of 101 degrees for more than 8 hours, call the Children's Emergency Department at (720)777-6888.
Surgery Follow Up: Please schedule a post-op visit with Iris Pediatric Dentistry 2 weeks after surgery, (720) 678-9401.
If you have any concerns, please call our office at 720-678-9401, or return to Children's Hospital Colorado Emergency Department.