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 Oral Surgery
Probably the most common bit of oral surgery done in humans is wisdom tooth removal. I mention this only because many of us can either remember having our own wisdom teeth out, or at least know somebody who has. For those of you who have not had their wisdom teeth removed, and do not know somebody who has, let me just point out that most people find that wisdom tooth removal is not fun in the short run.
And so it is with most forms of oral surgery. Althought we do a good job of pain mamagement, there is nonetheless a definite recovery period during which most patients experience some discomfort. This discomfort may be evidenced by drooling, poor appetite, lethargy, etc. If your patient seems quite uncomfortable, please let us know. We provide pain medication suitable to the patient and the procedure being done, and usually this controls their pain well. However, each patient is different, and some may need more medication. Please contact us if you have concerns.
Your pet has stitches in his or her mouth. Veterinary dentists use sutures more than human dentists. The reason for this is that veterinary dentists often remove more teeth at a time than human dentists do, and our veterinary patients are not able to understand directions to not chew on the extraction side, and rinse four times a day with salt water.
The sutures will dissolve in time, and do not need to be removed. However, they do need to be protected. Opening your pet's mouth, or handling his or her lips can put tension on the sutures and may cause them to tear out. Please avoid the temptation of looking at our work for at least two weeks. When medicating your pet, liquid medications will be dispensed where possible. Poke the tip of the dropper or syringe gently into the mouth without handling the lips.
During the recovery period, it is important to feed only soft food. This is to protect the incision and sutures. If your pet has lost a lot of teeth, it may be necessary to feed only soft food from now on.
How to tell if there are problems during recovery: Since you won't be opening up your pet's mouth to look for problems, it can be hard to tell if things are going well during recovery. If your pet doesn't eat well after a few days, drools excessively, or if there is a bad odor coming from your pet's mouth, we need to examine things as soon as possible.
Your pet will thank you for providing the care he or she needed!
Please visit our Website. This current page is found at: http://www.sunnysidevetclinic.com/site/view/64820_OralSurgery.pml
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