Preparing for Oral Surgery: Issues Affecting Recovery After Periapical Surgery

Dental surgery and oral surgery, of any kind, can lead to pain and discomfort following the procedure. For many patients, the discomfort and pain often resolve within a few hours but, in rare cases, can be quite extensive.

If you are planning to undergo a periapical surgery, it is important to know what to expect in terms of pain and discomfort after the procedure is complete. While most patients experience pain on the day of periapical surgery, the swelling can be expected to last for as long as two days, post-operatively with some patients varying depending on other health issues.

The region of the mouth where the periapical surgery is done may affect your pain and swelling after surgery. To reduce your risks for developing long-term oral health complications after periapical surgery, the oral surgeon should oral analgesics for use for as long as three days. In addition to the analgesic, you may want to ask the oral surgeon about the use of systemic steroids as a way in which to prevent prolonged risks for inflammation and swelling after periapical surgery.

In some oral surgeon settings, the amount of time the oral surgeon spends on the periapical surgery is believed, by some, to affect the outcome of pain and inflammation, or swelling. In fact, when assessed closely, this is generally not the case. In fact, for patients who believe the periapical surgery caused great discomfort, there is, instead, a direct correlation between the pain, swelling and inflammation and the association to hormones. Women, most often, report pain and swelling more often than men and, when examined, it has been found that the woman's immune response is slightly different, leading to a longer recovery period.

While there are complications associated with periapical surgery that can lead to pain, discomfort and swelling, most patients recover, fully, within two to three days. For some, however, the fluctuation in hormone levels and specific region of surgery may play a key role in the outcome and delay in recovery. If, therefore, you are planning to engage in periapical surgery, ask the oral surgeon about the effects your hormones may play in the recovery, if you are a woman, and if there are options to mitigating those potential oral health risks. With the use of analgesics and steroids, most patients report successful periapical surgery without any long term health issues or any missed activities of daily living.