brushing your teeth in the week after surgery

[spacerace]

can you raise your arms enough to do this with effort, or do you need assistance? will it pull the scars if you try to do it yourself too soon?

basically, am I going to need to stand there trying not laugh while my SO tries to stick the electric toothbrush in my mouth?

[SWNID]

I had no problem taking care of myself immediately after surgery.

[Alexthecat]

Yeah you can brush slowly, you can't scrub fast like you normally would.

[aleon515]

No reason a girl friend needs to do this for you.

--Jay

[harlee]

I actually tried to keep my arm still and shook my head 

[sam1234]

Top surgery really isn't that bad. I had it done under a local with a really nice Dr. My Dr. put Jackson-Pratt drains in, one per side, but even that didn't hurt to change. Most Dr.s will give a set of instructions as to what activities you can and can't do. I wouldn't think that brushing your teeth would be a problem.

Kind of off the subject, but you will feel so much better emotionally right after the surgery and both emotionally and physically in the long run. The first surgery can be a little nerve wracking, but its not as bad as you'd think.

Sam1234

[genderirrelevant]

If, for some reason, you do find it difficult to brush you could probably get by for a few days by avoiding sticky/gunky foods and rinsing thoroughly with a baking soda solution to neutralize any acid. I had gum surgery last year and wasn't supposed to brush my teeth in that section for a week. It was pretty gross by the end but not too bad for 3-4 days.

[aleon515]

Not really applicable to top surgery.
An electric toothbrush would help you do a better job. Walgreens has a very nice $10 electric toothbrush. Super nice. Not rechargeable but doesn't go thru the batteries that fast.

I agree that surgery was not that hard. (There are people who have a much harder recovery than I did.) But your range of motion is not that limited. I pretty much did everything. I got help with laundry, the cat box, and garbage due to the weight limit. Another thing that might be too hard is walking a dog. I was afraid of this, because though she is well-trained, she is known to pull sometimes. She's only twenty pounds but I think she's strong.

Even washing my hair, I did that. (i mean after the week or so.) It wasn't too easy, but you just learn to do things t-rex style.


--Jay

If, for some reason, you do find it difficult to brush you could probably get by for a few days by avoiding sticky/gunky foods and rinsing thoroughly with a baking soda solution to neutralize any acid. I had gum surgery last year and wasn't supposed to brush my teeth in that section for a week. It was pretty gross by the end but not too bad for 3-4 days.