How Salt Water Helps You Recover After A Gum Graft

You do not want to rinse, spit, brush, floss, or drink through a straw for 24 hours after your surgery, where your blood is clotting all of this will disrupt the healing process.

If you rinse with salt water or any type of mouthwash it will irritate the palate and it will cause you pain and delay your healing.

You can start brushing and flossing the next day, but please be careful not to brush or floss the surgical site. You also want to eat nothing but soft foods, no hard foods please, because it will hurt your chances of healing quicker. Here are a few ways to protect your surgical site after your gum surgery.

To Protect The Surgical Site Please Follow These Instructions:

• Please do not smoke.
• Please do not drink with a straw.
• Do not spit or rinse vigorously.
• Please do not brush or floss your teeth within the first day.
• Last but not least, it is very important not to pull your lip and peek at the surgical site.

After The 24-Hour Period

Please continue eating soft food until your gums feel good enough to add something more consistent. You can start rinsing every day after your meals with warm salt water. Take 1 teaspoon of salt, put in a cup of warm water and stir it.

Salt water helps reduce the swelling, redness, soothes your gums, and keeps infection away. You can rinse with your prescribed mouth wash for about 7 to 10 days. After your postoperative appointment, roughly a week later, you can start brushing the surgical site with an ultra-soft brush, but be sure to brush gently

1-2 Weeks After Your Surgery

Please make sure you keep your follow-up appointments, just in case we need to check on you and to see how your healing process is going. We may also need to take out your sutures. 2 weeks after your surgery, you can now start brushing and flossing your whole mouth, that’s when it will be safe.

You may have been prescribed antibiotics after your surgery, please start taking them on the same day and finish them until the end, that is very important to remember. We hope this article was very helpful, if you have any questions or concerns please give us a call!

To learn more, give us a call at (832) 975-0990, or use our secure online appointment request form to get started with your consultation.