What should you expect after oral surgery?

The normal course

Several days of swelling and soreness after a straightforward surgical extraction, with most people back to normal activity within a week. How long depends on the procedure — more involved surgery takes longer.

Underneath that, the bone continues healing for some weeks after you feel completely fine. Feeling better and being healed are different dates, and the gap between them is normal.

The first day or two

Soft, cool food, avoiding the surgical side. While the blood clot is forming, avoid:

• Very hot food
• Alcohol
• Smoking
• Drinking through a straw

These all risk disturbing the clot, and the clot is what protects the site while it closes.

Stitches

Often placed. Many dissolve on their own within one to two weeks. Non-dissolving ones are removed at the follow-up, which takes a moment and needs no anaesthesia.

When to call rather than wait

Contact the clinic — do not wait for the scheduled review — if:

• Pain worsens rather than improves after the third day.
• Bleeding does not settle.
• You develop fever, or spreading swelling.
• You have difficulty swallowing or breathing.

The last of those is urgent. The rest are the difference between something easily treated and something that becomes harder the longer it is left.

The direction is the signal

Almost all post-operative worry resolves into one question: is this getting better or getting worse? Soreness that reduces a little each day, swelling that peaks early and then settles, and gradually returning jaw movement are all the expected pattern. A reversal of that direction is what warrants the call.

Full detail on the oral surgery page; see also what counts as oral surgery. Consultation ₹500, waived against treatment.