OK, I have more questions for "those who have gone before me". Yeah, I'm sure I could have asked my surgeon, but I forgot and he just left for India for 3 weeks... So:
How long does it take these dissolvable sutures to actually dissolve?
How do you handle the whole oral hygiene aspect of this? I was told I was OK to brush my teeth, but it hurts to try to open my mouth wide enough to really do this, plus the toothpaste burns when it hits certain areas of my mouth! I spent the first two weeks just rinsing the heck out of my mouth with the Rx solution I was given and/or water as needed and brushing my tongue with a flat tongue brush. The Rx solution is known to really cause stains on the teeth, so I'm worried about that. I did manage to brush really well the other day, but like I said, it hurt and burned. Not fun! Any tips?
Oh, and if any of you liquid dieters have a Camille's Sidewalk Cafe nearby, their Tuscan Tomato soup and Banana Split smoothies are excellent! We treated ourselves to takeout last night...
Updates - 5 years post-op
9 years ago
5 comments:
Yes, the toothpaste burned my mouth really bad for the first couple of weeks. I have been using my water pic set on low since about week 2. It works awesome. I also swish with a peroxide rinse (it's a mouthwash you can find in Target, etc) I diluted it with water so it wouldn't be as strong. I also made sure to swish with ACT fluoride rinse...
I can't speak from experience, but my OS said my stitches would dissolve in about 4 weeks. I know there are stitches out there that dissolve quicker, because when I had my wisdom teeth out I feel like the stitches were gone in like 2 weeks.
I am also freaking out about oral hygiene and don't know what to do to clean my mouth, except for using the oral rinse.... I was forbidden to use a waterpik until week 3 so I'm really struggling to find a good method to clean. Let me know if you find anything helpful!
My stitches are starting to come out, they're not dissolving, more like falling out! (i think dissolvable is myth) have lost about 5 now.
My teeth are nicely stained from the antiseptic mounthwash but my ortho has told me to keep using it for another week. (and it'll clean up later) Using a baby toothbrush, only just been able to open my mouth wide enough to get it in and clean the insides the last few days. On the whole, they do feel pretty clean just a bit discoloured but i hope this will clean up later on.
Thanks guys - my mouth just feels gross. I don't own a water pic, so that option is out...I'll just keep swishing, I guess! :) At least if you puree the food good enough, there isn't much to get stuck anywhere!
You look really good!
I also used a baby tooth brush, very gently, for some time. This took the big layer of gunk off. Once the tenderness subsided, I used my water pik on low, which I still do, even 6 months post op The nerves in my gums feel hyper-sensitive...
I was worried about staining, too, but I felt good using the mouthwash knowing it would wipe out any yuckies that needed to go.
As for stitches, mine too, kinda fell out. Somwwhere around 2 weeks maybe, it's kinda fuzzy. It was pretty gross. At one point, I was gonna show my hubby so he could share in the gross factor, and then decided it was TOO gross even for that. :)
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