PATIENT INFORMATION

at Sydney Periodontics

Your First Appointment

At your first visit, the periodontist will review your medical and dental history before performing thorough clinical and radiographic examinations. Please bring with you the referral letter and any x-rays from your referring dentist. These may have been emailed or posted directly by your general dentist. It is advisable to have details of any medications you are taking and contact details for your medical practitioner or specialists.

Pre-surgical Instructions

Take all prescribed medications (antibiotics, sedatives, anti-inflammatory medications) as directed. If you taking sedatives before the surgery you will need to arrange for someone to drive you to and from your appointment.
Stop aspirin and other blood thinning medications as instructed by your periodontist (if necessary, your doctor will be contacted to ensure these medications may be stopped prior to the procedure).
Have your usual meal (breakfast or lunch) before your appointment.
Please note that you will need to avoid heavy lifting and vigorous exercise for 24 hours post-operatively. Contact sports could be limited depending on the procedure.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on:(02) 9418 1966

Post-surgical Instructions

These instructions will assist the healing process following a periodontal surgical procedure.

It is not unusual to experience some discomfort for 1-2 days following surgery. Take over-the-counter pain medication every 4-6 hours for the first day or two.
You may have had stitches and a dressing applied to the surgical site. Try not to disturb the wound. Stitches are expected to remain in place until your next appointment in 7 days. If the dressing should come off, please contact us for further instructions. In most situations, it will not need to be replaced.
Swelling may occur. To prevent/minimise swelling, apply an ice pack to the area, 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off, for 2-3 hours following surgery.
A small amount bleeding may occur in the first 24 hours. Do not rinse for 2 hours after surgery as vigorous rinsing will promote bleeding. Should the wound begin to bleed, place gauze on the bleeding site and apply firm pressure for 5-10 minutes. Keep your head elevated.
Chew on the opposite side of the mouth. Avoid hot drinks. Choose cool drinks and soft foods. Avoid spicy, sharp and chewy foods.
Tobacco and alcohol should be avoided. Tobacco will slow down the healing process and alcohol should not be used in combination with pain medication. Some antibiotics react adversely with alcohol.
Do not brush the surgical site but continue with usual oral hygiene measures at all other sites. To keep the surgical site clean, use the chlorhexidine mouthwash: 10ml twice a day allowing it to gently bathe the surgical site and hold in your mouth for one minute.
Strenuous exercise is best avoided for the first 24 hours following surgery.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us on:(02) 9418 1966. You will find an afterhours number on your appointment card.

Cancellation Policy

In the event that you have to reschedule your appointment, we require at least 24 hours notice. A fee will be charged for those appointments that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.

Infection Control

Infection control in our practice is very important to us. To protect our patients and ourselves, we strictly maintain sterilization and cross contamination processes utilising the NH and MRC recommendations on infection control protocol.

Payment Options

In order to minimise the cost of administration, we request payment in full at the end of each visit. We accept payment by cash, cheque, credit or debit card. If you have dental cover with a private health fund, please bring your membership card to each appointment as Hicaps is available for accounts to be processed directly by your fund.

Our Services

Treatment of periodontal disease
Supportive periodontal therapy
Implant placement
Sinus lifts
Management of peri-implant disease

Soft tissue grafting
Cosmetic periodontal surgery
Bone grafts
Regenerative procedures
Surgical procedures in orthodontic treatment