Care of your mouth after oral and maxillofacial surgery

Information about how to care for your mouth after surgery of the mouth, face, and jaws.

This leaflet has been produced to improve your understanding of what may occur after oral and maxillofacial surgery. If your treatment  is continued  by another department, please follow their advice in addition to any instructions within this leaflet. 

If you have any questions or would like further explanation, especially if you are unsure, please discuss this with the student, dentist or the attending nurse. 

Instructions to patients after surgery of the mouth/face/jaws

1. After leaving the hospital, do not rinse out your mouth for 24 hours, unless you have been advised to do so by the hospital staff. 
2. Please do not smoke. 
3. Do not disturb the surgical wound with your fingers or tongue. 
4. For the rest of the day, only have food that requires no chewing. 
5. Do not chew on the affected side for at least three days. 
6. While your mouth is still feeling numb, be careful not to bite your lip. 
7. Avoid exercise. 
8. Do not have any alcoholic drinks or very hot drinks for the rest of the day. 

Bleeding

If the surgical site continues to bleed after you have left the hospital, do not be alarmed, as much of the liquid that appears to be blood is saliva. Make a small pad from the gauze swabs provided, place it over the bleeding site and apply firm but gentle pressure for 15 to 20 minutes and repeat if necessary.  If the bleeding still does not stop, seek dental or medical advice using the details below:

Contact us:
Monday to Friday, 
8:30 am - 4:30pm
T: 0117 374 6647 

Emergency out of hours 
NHS 111

In the event of sudden onset of severe bleeding or severe bleeding that cannot be controlled, call 999 and request ambulance services and continue to apply firm pressure to the bleeding site. 

Care of your mouth the day after surgery

Your mouth will heal more quickly if you keep it clean and use hot salt mouth baths. 
1. Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a tumbler of hot water (about the same temperature as a hot cup of tea). Take a mouthful and tilt your head so that the hot salt water bathes the affected area. 
2. After about thirty seconds, spit out and repeat the bathing until you have used the whole tumbler. If possible, the hot salt mouth baths should be used three times daily for seven days, after meals.  

Toothbrushing 

Brush your teeth as usual, but avoid direct contact with the surgical site.  

Pain relief 

Discomfort and mild pain is common and may be relieved by the use of routine over-the-counter painkillers if a hospital prescription has not been provided.  

Dry socket pain

This painful condition usually begins 24 to 48 hours after the removal of a tooth. It is caused by the loss of the blood clot from your extraction site and exposure of the jawbone. The chance of getting a dry socket is increased if you smoke. Please try to refrain from smoking for at least 10 days. This condition is not treatable with antibiotics, you will need to be seen by a dentist. If you do have this condition, the extraction site will be washed out and a special pain-killing dressing applied. If you feel that you may be suffering with dry socket or another post-operative problem, please contact us early in the day to arrange an urgent appointment.