Post-Operative Instructions

Local Anesthesia

Your child may have had some local anesthetic injected by the doctor during today's appointment. Commonly the area will be numb for an additional 2 hours after treatment, and it is this window of time where a child can seriously injure themselves. Because of the numbness they are experiencing, they will not feel the trauma from biting their cheeks, lips, or tongue. They can also cause considerable harm to their skin as they begin to scratch the surface and play with the area untill deep wounds develop. During this time, please keep your child distracted by having them watch television, take a nap, or to simply watch them as they resume normal activity until the anesthesia wears off.

If the child does manage to bite their lips, cheek, or tongue, the area may become swollen, and a large wound may develop into a chancre sore 1-2 days later. This wound is self limiting, and takes 7-10 days to heal. If this does occur, please contact the office and we can evaluate the level of damage.

Nitrous Oxide

Because Nitrous Oxide is used in the form of a gas during dental procedures, once discontinued in the office setting, the gas is almost immediately dissipated from the body within seconds. There are no prolonged side effects when using Nitrous Oxide, and normal activity can be resumed post dental procedure. However, the main concern lies with the effects of local anesthesia, and caution should be geared towards prevention of lip, tongue, and cheek biting as instructed by the dentist.

Extractions

NUMBNESS: Watch your child carefully as he/she may bite or play with his numb lip or tongue. This may cause irritation or pain to the area without him/her realizing it until the numbness wears off. Avoid eating for 1 ½ to 2 hours after the procedure to assure that the anesthetic has worn off.
DIET: Avoid hot, spicy or crunchy (potato chips) foods after the extraction. They can irritate the extraction site. Soft foods such as macaroni, mashed potatoes, and spaghetti are preferable.
Avoid drinking from straws or spitting for 3-5 days. This can dislodge the blood clot and cause the socket to bleed.
BLEEDING: The socket will ooze slightly for about 24 hours. To stop the bleeding, have your child bite on a piece of gauze or a wet black tea bag. If the bleeding continues, do not hesitate to call our office.
PAIN: If your child has pain, Children’s Tylenol is recommended. If the pain continues for more than 24 hours, please contact our office.
ACTIVITIES: Avoid any physical activities for 24 hours after the extraction procedure. Swimming is also not advised for 3-5 days post treatment.

Oral and Intravenous (IV) Sedations

For safety, while driving home, please use an infant car seat or seat belts to restrain your child. Also, carefully observe your child’s activities the rest of the day. The effects of the pre-medication may last for a few hours. Even though your child’s balance may appear to return to normal shortly after the sedation, we recommend that you restrain your child from climbing stairs, riding bicycles or anything that requires full coordination and balance for the rest of the day.
Local anesthesia has been used for your child today. The effect of the anesthetic may last up to 2 hours. Please watch that the lip, cheek or tongue is not bitten. If this occurs, place an ice pack over the area for 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. The injury will usually look worse than it is in actuality.
Some oozing is normal after extractions or after some dental procedures. If bleeding occurs, place gauze-pressure over the surgical site to stop the bleeding. If the bleeding persists and is profuse, please call our office immediately (usually heavy bleeding for more than 30 min.).
Give Children’s Tylenol for discomfort according to directions on the label. One dose given prior to the anesthetic wearing off, goes a long way in making your child comfortable, post dental treatment. If you were provided with any additional prescriptions, give them to your child as indicated on the label.
Give your child plenty of fluids today following the procedure (water, apple juice, orange juice, cola, 7-up or ginger ale) to prevent dehydration.
Following the appointment, your child may be groggy and may want to sleep a few hours. When your child wakens, encourage fluids and soft foods (soup, jello, yogurt, etc.) The first meal should be soft foods in moderate quantity. Your child may wake up very hungry, but over-eating may cause vomiting or a stomach ache.
Other common side effects of the sedation are a spike in temperature, nausea, or vomiting. If these occur and you are concerned, please call our office for further instructions.
A severe rash or hives over the torso and arms may be indicative of an allergic response. Please call our office to discuss signs and symptoms with the doctor(s).
When putting your child to bed, make sure that your child’s airway is not obstructed and that his/her breathing is clean (not noisy).