POST-OPERATIVE INSTUCTIONS FOR PATIENTS WHO HAVE RECEIVED A TISSUE GRAFT


By following these instructions, you will continue to have an optimal recovery:

1. After your surgery, you will find that a hard pink protective material has been placed over the graft site. This material should stay in place until we remove it at your post-operative appointment, approximately seven days later. If it comes off prior to your post-op appointment, please phone us at (250) 383-3368 immediately and let us know.

2. A clear surgical stint that fits over your upper teeth and the roof of your mouth has been put into place to protect the palate and provide comfort (specifically to the area from which the donor grafting tissue has been removed). Usually we place some of the pink material in this stint as well. At times, the pink material may come loose from the stint. This is okay, and may be discarded should this occur.

3. You may wear the stint for as long as you require, and while eating, in order to provide comfort, but it MUST be cleaned frequently in order to help avoid infection. Clean your stint by brushing it with a toothbrush under cold running water.

4. The areas involved will be quite sore throughout the healing process. This is normal.

5. If you are able (i.e., not allergic and don’t experience stomach upset), you may take three 200 milligram ibuprofen tablets every four hours (or less as needed—but no more than every four hours) for pain relief. Ibuprofen is recommended because of its pain-relieving as well as its anti-inflammatory effects