Instructions Before Surgery

Bloomington IL Periodontist Dr. Noraian Instructions

When preparing for your upcoming surgery, the following instructions may help you. These are only general guidelines for your safety and preparedness. Dr. Noraian and his team may have already reviewed some specifics for your particular situation or they may have more details for you at the time of surgery. In any case, you are more than welcome to call his office, even if you have last-minute questions. By getting your questions answered, you will be more at ease, and your procedure will go more smoothly. Dr. Noraian‘s staff is available to help you in Bloomington at Bloomington IL Office Phone Number 309-663-4577 during regular business hours.

Exercise Before Surgery

When Dr. Noraian performs surgery, safety is fundamental to his treatment protocol. While exercise is important to your overall health, exercising immediately before surgery will excite your metabolism causing you to require more medication. Dr. Noraian understands your need to exercise but asks that you refrain from exercise at least one day before surgery and at least three days after surgery. After this four day window, you may resume your exercise program slowly. Even though exercise may make your surgical procedure more difficult to be speeding up your metabolism of medications, it is great for healing after the procedure. An energetic metabolism helps the healing reactions in the body proceed faster. If you are not exercising regularly, starting a new exercise program around the time of your surgery may not be the best idea.

Medications Before Surgery

If Dr. Noraian or a medical professional prescribes any pre-operative medications, please take them as directed or bring them with you to your appointment as directed. If you require antibiotic premedication, please take it as directed prior to surgery.

Make Sure Dr. Noraian Knows What Medications You Are Taking

Please do not stop taking any of your medications without consulting Dr. Noraian, or your prescribing physician, first. If your medications change from the time of your consultation appointment to your surgical visit, Dr. Noraian will need to know about these changes prior to surgery so that he may help you better prepare. For example, if your doctor has directed you to start taking something as simple as daily aspirin, Motrin or Advil, these common over-the-counter medications may affect how your body will control your bleeding during surgery. If you inform Dr. Noraian about these changes, he still may be able to keep you on track for your procedure. If you are proactive about any medical changes, Dr. Noraian will have time to get in touch with your physician, if necessary, so that he may provide your dental care in a safe and timely manner.

If You Take Blood Thinners

Not all procedures performed by Dr. Noraian create bleeding problems and not all blood thinners may compromise your ability to undergo a procedure. Regardless, if you are taking Coumadin, Plavix, Aspirin or any other blood thinner, please let Dr. Noraian know. Occasionally, a simple blood test may be coordinated with your physician, so you may avoid having to make any changes to your blood thinners. Let Dr. Noraian know what you are taking to help keep treatment within an appropriate window of safety.

If You Have Diabetes

Managing your diabetes is as important to Dr. Noraian as it is to you. One of the best ways to avoid low blood sugar while you are at a dental office is to book your appointments after mealtimes. Hence, scheduling as the first appointment in the morning or first appointment after lunch will give you the best chance of avoiding low blood sugar if your appointment runs long crowding your scheduled mealtime.

What to Bring to Your Surgical Visit

Dr. Noraian keeps his office cool, so please dress warmly. His staff will even provide blankets if you need them. You may bring your iPod or MP3 player with you if you like. If you need to bring a phone to the office, please silence it so it is not disruptive during your procedure.

What to Eat Prior to Surgery

If you are having conscious sedation, do not have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before your surgery and please read the next section “If You Are Requesting To Be Sedated.” Otherwise, Dr. Noraian advises that you have a good meal prior to surgery for the following reasons:

  1. You may not wish to eat after having your mouth worked on, so you will have something on your stomach to help keep you satisfied.
  2. If you are having a procedure after your mealtime, you will not be at risk of low blood sugar during the procedure.

If You Are Requesting to Be Sedated

Dr. Noraian can accomplish most procedures with a local anesthetic, which is a temporary numbing of the area where he will perform the surgery. This method has the simplest recovery and will allow you to drive home on your own. The area receiving the anesthetic will feel fat, but not look fat, and the numbness wears off in one to eight hours after surgery depending on what type of anesthetic Dr. Noraian used and the speed of your metabolism.

For shorter procedures, you may also request nitrous oxide sedation, sometimes referred to as “gas,” in addition to your local anesthetic. Surgeons cannot use nitrous oxide with women who are pregnant, so if there is a chance that you are pregnant, please let Dr. Noraian know. Nitrous oxide provides the benefit of reducing your perception of time and is easily reversed so that you will be able to drive home after the procedure.

For longer procedures, you may also request conscious sedation, also known as I.V. sedation, in addition to your local anesthetic. There are several requirements for this procedure including:

  1. You must not have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before the procedure – not even a cup of coffee. If you take daily oral medications, you may take them with one small sip of water. Even though the sedatives are relaxing, taking your blood pressure medication with a sip of water will help keep your blood pressure under control during the procedure.
  2. You must have a driver to and from the appointment who will understand the post-operative instructions that Dr. Noraian will be given to you both orally and in writing. It is ideal to have this person or someone else check on you after the procedure.

Dr. Noraian will need to arrange for a special nursing staff to assist with sedation cases. If you are not compliant with these requirements and Dr. Noraian‘s staff has to cancel your case, you will forfeit your $250 deposit for your sedation case and incur another sedation fee when you reschedule.

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Post-Operative Care

In order to evaluate your progress and healing, Dr. Noraian and his staff will see you for post-operative checks on a schedule that is appropriate for your procedure. After surgery, Dr. Noraian will usually also be seeing you back for periodontal maintenance or cleaning, and an examination of tissue maturation at the appropriate time for your procedure. Dr. Noraian‘s staff does their best to coordinate these appointments with you when your treatment is booked, so please remember to have your calendar handy to help them work efficiently with scheduling your appointments.

Allergies

Please alert the office to any allergies or sensitivities that you might have to antibiotics or any other medication.

Medications to Be Prescribed

Typically, Dr. Noraian will prescribe you any medications he deems necessary. Please take all medications as directed until gone. You should not take any medications Dr. Noraian prescribes on an empty stomach, as nausea may result. Please take these medications with at least a full glass of water. For women taking birth control pills, antibiotics may interfere with the pill’s effectiveness and you may need to consider alternative forms of birth control.

Food Suggestions

When preparing a post-op menu, please consider some of the following choices:

  • Ensure/Sustacal
  • Soups
  • Pudding
  • Rice
  • Apple Sauce
  • Oatmeal
  • Pasta
  • Macaroni & Cheese
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Jell-O
  • Bananas
  • Yogurt
  • Milk Shakes
  • Casseroles
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Foods you could serve to a baby

A good rule of thumb is to avoid using straws after surgery as the suction may disrupt the wound, effect healing and cause bleeding.

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