Post Operative instructions for extraction site preservation/ ridge augmentation

In addition to the general postoperative instructions, we would like to emphasize a few points.

Your bone graft is made up of thousands of bone particles/granules. You may find some small granules in your mouth for the first several days. Do not be alarmed by these. It’s normal to have some of them come out of the graft site and into your mouth. There are some things you could do to minimize the amount of particles that become dislodged:

• Do not vigorously rinse or spit for 3-5 days.

• Do not apply pressure with your tongue or fingers to the grafted area, as the material is movable during the initial healing.

• Do not lift or pull on the lip to look at the sutures. This can actually cause damage to the wound site and tear the sutures.

For the first 2-3 days, we would suggest letting the blood clot stabilize and not even rinse your mouth. Following the second day, gentle rinsing would be allowed but not too vigorously as you can again disturb some of the bone graft granules. If a partial denture or a flipper was placed in your mouth, you may have to see your restorative dentist to have it adjusted and learn how to remove and replace it appropriately.