Jaw Surgery: Caring for Your Child's Mouth and Teeth After the Operation

Taking care of your child’s mouth after surgery is important

Proper care of the mouth and teeth after surgery will help your child get better faster. Let your child know that caring for her mouth and teeth will help:

• stop infection

• heal the mouth and jaw

• keep the gums healthy

• remove plaque

• stop bad breath

What you will need to care for your child’s mouth after surgery

After surgery, you will need special things to help care for your child’s teeth and mouth.

The orthodontic clinic may give you the following things:

• a tuft specialty toothbrush and a regular soft toothbrush

• Vaseline

• orthodontic wax

If you are not given these things, ask a nurse or doctor at the clinic.

You will need to buy from the pharmacy:

• Peridex Oral Rinse: Your surgeon will write you a prescription for Peridex Oral Rinse. Your child needs to use it for 2 or 3 weeks.

• Alcohol-free mouth rinse: When your child stops using Peridex, she needs to use a regular alcohol-free mouth rinse for at least two more weeks or until her mouth is fully healed.

Brushing your teeth

The surgeon or nurse will tell you when your child can start brushing her teeth again. Usually, this will be two or three days after the surgery. Be careful not to brush on the incision areas. Incision areas are the places where the surgeon cut your child’s mouth. Your child can start to brush these areas gently about two weeks after surgery or when the incision site is fully healed.

Your child will need to brush her splint and wires as well as her teeth. The small soft toothbrush will work for most areas. The tuft brush will help with areas that are hard to reach.

How to brush your teeth

Teach your child the following steps:

• Use warm water and a small amount of toothpaste. Put the bristle tips against the gum line and brush in a gentle circular motion over all of the teeth. Be careful not to brush on top of stitches.

• After you brush, use the mouth rinse in the way the surgeon tells you to. Use the mouth rinse every time until healing is complete.

• Brush after each meal and before going to bed.

• Use Vaseline or lip balm often to keep lips moist.

Note: If any of the wires are poking your child or causing sores on her lips or cheeks, cover the wires with orthodontic wax and call the orthodontist.

Exercises for your child’s face

Facial exercises will help your child move her lips and jaw. A nurse or doctor will show your child how to do facial exercises before she leaves the hospital. If no one shows you, ask the nurse or orthodontist. Your child needs to do these exercises ten times in a row, four times a day. She needs to do this until her mouth is fully healed.

Eating and drinking

Your child should drink lots of fluids.

Give your child soft, nutritious foods that are high in protein and calories. Good foods to serve are soups, porridge, eggs, blended or mashed vegetables and fruits, overcooked pasta, smoothies, milk, milkshakes, and yogurt. A hospital dietitian will talk to you about your child’s diet before you leave the hospital.

Follow-up care

If you have any problems after your surgery, you should call your surgeon’s craniofacial coordinator. Be sure to ask for his or her name and telephone number before you leave the hospital.

Name:

 

Telephone:

 

Key points
Proper care of the teeth and mouth following jaw surgery will speed recovery and prevent problems. Your child will need to use special tooth brushes and mouth rinses. Your child should exercise face and jaw muscles following surgery. Your child will need to eat a special diet of soft foods until the jaw is healed.

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