1. Pain – Some discomfort is normal following any surgical procedure. Pain medication will be prescribed.
2. Swelling – It is normal for tissues to swell following surgery. Rapid swelling around the eyes or on the hands with associated itching or welts may be caused by an allergic reaction. If this occurs, call the office.
3. Bruising – Bleeding in and around the face will often penetrate through the tissue to the skin and appear as a bruise. It may take one week for it to clear.
4. Nausea – Most nausea is due to medications for the anesthetic and/or for pain in combination with dehydration. Take food with your medications and drink plenty of water.
5. Dry Socket – Pain in the tooth socket usually occurring three to seven days following tooth removal.
6. Infection – Many bacteria live in the mouth.  An open wound in this area may be more susceptible to soft tissue and bone infection.
7. Numbness – Because some nerves are closely associated with your teeth, numbness may occur following their removal. This is most often associated with the removal of lower wisdom teeth. The lip, chin and tongue may become numb and feel like Novocaine in the area. Usually this last a few days, but may last for months or in rare cases be permanent.
8. Local Anesthetic – Oral surgery can be performed awake with numbing injections. Complications of injections include pain, permanent numbness, loss of taste, decreased opening, fainting, anxiety, allergic reactions and rarely death.
9. General Anesthesia – Oral surgery can be performed asleep depending on your health status. Anesthesia is extremely safe, however, severe medical complications including death occur rarely. Your pre-existing medical conditions, especially heart and lung disease, may increase your risk for severe complications. If you are going to sleep, it is imperative that you have nothing to eat or drink six hours prior to surgery as vomiting may cause pneumonia or even death. The depth of your anesthetic will depend on your health status and response to the medications. It may be necessary to perform a light sedation with the potential to remember events during the procedure.
10. Trismus – This refers to limited opening of the jaw following surgical procedures that have an associated inflammation of the jaw muscles. This usually disappears in about two weeks.
11. Fractured Jaw – Although extremely rare, the jaw may fracture during surgical procedures. This occurs mostly in association with deeply impacted teeth or in people with disease of the bone.
12. Phlebitis–Redness and discomfort at the site of intravenous injection of drugs is caused by inflammation of the vein used for injection. Contact the office if this occurs.
13. Sinus Infection – Because the upper jaw teeth are in close proximity to the sinus, an opening between the tooth socket and sinus may occur.  This may result in a sinus infection and need for a surgical closure.
14. Bone Fragments – Extraction sites can develop sharp areas, which may require surgery.
15. Medication Reaction-Adverse or allergic reactions to medications occasionally occur.  Pain medication can cause drowsiness, dizziness and fainting.  Please consult your pharmacist, physician, and medication package insert to verify that there are no adverse drug interactions with your currently prescribed medications. Some medication taken with Birth Control medication can decrease their effectiveness in preventing pregnancy.
16. Damage to other teeth – Rarely, adjacent teeth and/or restorations may be damaged during extraction of a tooth
17. Medication Related Osteonecrosis-Patients taking oral or injection bisphosphonates (ie Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, Reclast), IV bisphosphonates (ie Aredia, Zometa), or monoclonal antibodies (ie Prolia, Xgeva, Amgen) for osteoporosis or cancer treatment are at risk of developing non-healing dead bone.  Further information can be found here.

Occasionally it may be necessary to order laboratory tests that will be an additional expense to the patient. These procedures will be performed and billed by the appropriate laboratory or hospital.