A little bit of pain after root canal surgery is normal. Start pain medications BEFORE your anesthesia wears off.

Start with Ibuprofen (such as Advil) 600 milligrams every six hours or 800 milligrams every eight hours unless your doctor says not to take Ibuprofen.

Do not use Aspirin. If you cannot take Ibuprofen, taking two acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) every 6 hours works too.

Other tips:

1. If an antibiotic is prescribed, make sure to take all of it and/or follow your dentist’s instructions. Antibiotics could stop birth control pills from working well. Please consult your physician if you have concerns.

2. Do not lift or pull the lip to look at the surgical area because touching it repeatedly could slow healing and you could tear your stitches.

3. There might be some swelling and bruising which will be at its worst around 48-96 hours after surgery. To help with the swelling, gently put an ice pack over the surgical area. 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, for around 3-4 hours. Make sure not to use ice over 6 hours. Do not fall asleep with ice on your face.

4. Eating enough food and drinking enough water after surgery are the most important things to help the area get better faster. Do not eat crunchy foods or drink hot liquids in the first 3 days which could bother the surgical site.

5. Starting tomorrow, rinse gently with warm salt water (mix one teaspoon of salt into one glass of warm water) after meals and at bedtime or use the prescribed mouth rinse. This will help with cleaning and healing of the surgical site. You can keep brushing and flossing normally everywhere except next to the surgical site.

6. Do not smoke for the first 24 hours following surgery.

7. A little oozing or bleeding is normal for the first week. If the surgical area keeps bleeding for more than two days, please call us.

8. If you have anything you are worried about, please call your doctor any hour of the day or night.