You have had a surgical treatment. The possible complaints during the first week are:
1. Pain.
2. Difficulty swallowing and a limited mouth opening.
3. A general feeling of being ill including raised body temperature.
4. Swelling inside and outside the mouth. Especially during the morning this swelling may be significant.

Removal of the gauze / postoperative bleeding:
At the end of some treatments a gauze will be left on the wound. It is important you bite on the gauze for thirty minutes to stop the bleeding. If the wound starts to bleed again, you can fold a gauze, napkin, or handkerchief and bite on it for thirty minutes. It is normal to see some (old) blood in your saliva during the first days after the surgical treatment. If the bleeding does not stop, please call us.

Wound healing:
For proper wound healing it is necessary to:
1. Not rinse your mouth or spit during the first 24 hours after the treatment.
2. Brush your teeth normally, excluding the wound area.
3. Not smoke and don’t use alcohol during the first week after the treatment.
4. Use the potentially prescribed mouth rinse, starting the day after the treatment.

Antibiotics:
have you been prescribed antibiotics by your doctor and do you suffer from side effects such as itching, skin rash, or other side effects? please contact the clinic immediately, even if in doubt you can always contact us.

Anesthesia:
The local anesthetic works for two to four hours. Until the anesthetic has completely worn off it’s advisable to not eat or drink in order to avoid burn injury and bite wounds.

Pain:
After the anesthetic has worn off you can experience pain. This pain can last for a week. You were given a prescription for painkillers, use these according to instruc- tions. If needed you can also use paracetamol.

Fever:
The first couple of days after the surgery you could experience increase of temperature, if your temperature is increased over 39 degrees Centigrade, please contact us.

Swelling:
When you return home, you can cool the treated area with ice cubes or an Ice pack wrapped in a towel. You put the cold compress externally on the operating area. The first two days you can repeat this several times a day for 15 minutes. Due to the procedure, your cheek may be swollen the day after the treatment. The swelling slowly subsides after four or five days.

Restricted mouth opening and swallowing problems:
If movement restrictions of the jaw and/or swallowing problems occur, these complaints will usually decrease and disappear within a few days. If the swelling increase after four days and is it accompanied by a fever? Please contact the clinic.

Stiches:
Any stitches placed will dissolve automatically within one to three weeks, unless informed otherwise by the surgeon.

Sun:
We advise you not to expose the face in the sun for the first few days to prevent inflammation.

Contact us;
1. If the swelling increases after five days.
2. If you experience severe fever over 39 degrees Centigrade.
3. Postoperative bleeding that does not respond to biting on a gauze, napkin, or handkerchief for 30 minutes.
4. If you experience a permanent numb feeling of your chin, lip, or tongue.

We are available on Mondays to Fridays from 08:30-16:30, Please call 070 221 21 21. For help outside our working hours, and in case of urgent complaints, you can call the general phone number of (HMC) Haaglanden Medisch Centrum on 088 979 79 00.

You clearly indicate that you have been treated by an oral surgeon from Haaglanden Clinics and that there are agreements that you will be assisted by the HMC for aftercare.