Pre-Operative Instructions

Thank you for selecting Carolina Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Center for your surgical needs. Dr. Adams believes that a positive oral surgery experience requires a surgeon who is not only well trained and skilled, but also willing to listen to your concerns, explain your options, and alleviates your fears. He and his team are committed to providing uncompromising care in the privacy of a relaxed, friendly and professional environment. Please feel free to ask any questions regarding your surgery.

By federal law, all patients under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by their custodial parent or legal guardian for all appointments (examinations, treatment and follow-up).

REMINDERS FOR THE DAY BEFORE:

• Food and Drink: DO NOT eat or drink anything after MIDNIGHT on the night before your surgery. No water, gum or mints. Your cooperation is critical to ensure your safety.
• Alcohol and Narcotics: DO NOT ingest alcoholic beverages 24 hours before your surgery or narcotics (including Vicodin/ Hydrocodone or any street or recreations drugs).
• Tobacco: Please DO NOT smoke for at least 24 hours prior to surgery. Nicotine levels in your blood may negatively affect your sedation experience.
• Confirm: If you have not already confirmed your appointment, please call the office prior to your appointment to confirm the time, review instructions and review any questions you may have.

PREPARING FOR SURGERY:

• Caregiver: Please arrange to have a responsible adult escort you to the appointment.
  • They should be prepared to remain in the office, with a vehicle during the entire appointment, which may last up to two hours.
  • Your Care Giver will receive home-care instructions and they should be prepared to assist you during recovery for the first 24 hours.
  • Due to seating capacity, we kindly ask that no additional family members and/or friends accompany the caregiver.
• Childcare: Childcare arrangements must be made OUTSIDE of the office prior to all appointments.
• Work: Plan on resting the remainder of the day of your appointment. Depending on the difficulty of the procedure, you may need an additional 1-3 days of recovery.
• Food Prep: Please buy soft, easy to eat foods prior to the day of surgery. This includes Jell-O, applesauce, or mashed potatoes. Please refer to the food list for more suggestions or you can visit our Pinterest page for delicious recipes.
• Female Patients: If requested, your HCG test must be completed on the date that was discussed at your pre-operative appointment.

DAY OF SURGERY:

• Food and Drink: DO NOT eat or drink ANYTHING. No water, gum or mints.
• Hygiene: Please bathe or shower the morning of your surgery or the night before. This ensures the cleanest surgical setting for your procedure.
• Please brush your teeth the morning of surgery and rinse your mouth. DO NOT swallow the water.
• Clothing and Jewelry: Please wear comfortable loose fitting clothing, including:
  • Short sleeve shirt – no pullover knit or sweatshirts
  • Long pants
  • Closed toed shoes – no flip flops
  • Jackets, contact lenses and jewelry (including face and tongue rings) must be removed.

IMPORTANT MEDICATION INFORMATION:

• DO NOT take medications unless prescribed by or approved by Dr. Adams, especially sleeping pills, tranquilizers or aspirin.
• DO NOT take anti-inflammatory medications for seven days before surgery unless instructed otherwise, by Dr. Adams. This includes Ibuprofen, Aleve, Naproxen, etc.
• Heart or Blood Pressure: If you take medication for your heart or blood pressure every morning, please take them the morning of surgery.
  (Note: They can be taken with a small sip of water the morning of your procedure.)
• Diabetic Patients: If you take insulin for diabetes (high blood sugar), please DO NOT take your insulin and DO NOT eat breakfast. Test your blood sugar (glucose) when you wake up on the morning of surgery and BRING your testing equipment to your surgery appointment.
• Asthmatic Patients: Use your inhaler the morning of surgery, 2 hours prior to the appointment. Please bring your inhaler with you the day of surgery.

Your appointment has been reserved specifically for you. To minimize your wait, you must arrive on time. If unforeseen events cause you to arrive late, we may need to cancel or reschedule your appointment. If this appointment cannot be kept, kindly notify us at least 48 hours in advance, so we can offer this time to another patient. Failure to provide notification will result in a cancellation fee equal to half of the total treatment cost, which must be paid prior to rescheduling. This fee cannot be charged to insurance.

Failure to follow all instructions may result in a cancellation of this appointment and/or a forfeiture of your deposit. This appointment may not be rescheduled.

For a printable version of the pre-operative instructions please click here.