Preparing for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Imaging, Blood Tests and Anesthesia Review

The letter arrives with a checklist longer than the one for a week’s vacation. Nothing to eat after midnight. Bring a list of your medicines. Someone must drive you home. And there, in the middle, the line that makes most people pause: “You may be asked to attend for blood tests and a pre-anesthetic assessment.” It was a wisdom tooth. It suddenly feels like an operation.

It is one, though a routine and well-rehearsed one. Oral surgery preparation exists because the mouth is a surprisingly busy neighborhood: nerves that supply feeling to the lip and tongue run within millimeters of tooth roots, the sinus floor sits just above the upper molars, and the blood supply is generous enough that a small wound can bleed freely. Imaging, blood tests and an anesthesia review are how a surgeon and anesthetist reduce surprises before the first incision.

This guide explains what each step involves, who genuinely needs it, and what to ask before you sign the consent form.

What does oral surgery preparation actually involve?

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is the specialty that treats the teeth, jaws, face and the soft tissue of the mouth. In plain terms, the surgeon works on hard tissue (bone and teeth) and soft tissue (gums, cheek lining, tongue) in a space that is small, wet and constantly moving. Preparation is the process of learning enough about that space, and about you, to plan the operation safely.

Three strands run in parallel. The first is imaging, which shows where the roots, nerves and sinuses sit so the surgeon can plan the approach. The second is a medical review: a structured conversation about your health history, medicines, allergies and previous reactions to anesthetics, sometimes backed by blood tests. The third is the anesthesia plan, which decides how you will be kept comfortable and what you need to do beforehand, including fasting.

How much of this you go through depends on the size of the operation. Removing a single erupted tooth under local anesthetic in a healthy adult may need one X-ray and a five-minute conversation. Removing four impacted wisdom teeth under general anesthesia, or realigning a jaw, involves a formal pre-assessment appointment, possibly a scan, and a checklist that runs to several pages. The NHS describes wisdom tooth removal itself as taking anywhere from a few minutes for a simple case to around 20 minutes for a more complicated one, and the preparation scales with that complexity.

One principle holds throughout: the team is looking for anything that changes the plan. A blood thinner, a heart valve, an undiagnosed bleeding tendency, a root curled around a nerve. Finding these on a Tuesday afternoon in clinic is far better than finding them during surgery.

Who is usually offered oral surgery, and who is asked to wait?

Most oral surgery is planned rather than urgent. Common reasons include impacted or repeatedly infected wisdom teeth, teeth broken below the gum line, cysts in the jaw, preparation for dental implants (titanium posts placed into the jawbone to hold artificial teeth), biopsies of mouth lesions, and corrective jaw surgery for bite problems. The Mayo Clinic notes that wisdom teeth are usually removed when they cause pain, trap food and debris, damage neighboring teeth, or develop cysts, rather than simply because they exist.

Being asked to wait is not a rejection. It usually means something in the medical review needs sorting first. Typical reasons a surgical team might delay a planned procedure include:

• A current chest infection or feverish illness, which raises anesthetic risk and slows healing.
• Poorly controlled diabetes, because high blood glucose impairs wound healing and infection defense.
• Blood pressure that is markedly high on the day of assessment.
• A recent heart attack, stroke or newly placed coronary stent, where the cardiology team’s advice on timing and antiplatelet medicines is needed.
• Pregnancy, where non-urgent surgery and X-rays are often deferred, particularly in the first trimester, unless the problem is causing infection or pain.
• An active gum or tooth infection at the surgical site that would be better settled with treatment first.

Age alone is rarely the deciding factor. Older adults undergo oral surgery routinely; what matters is the overall health picture and how well long-term conditions are controlled. Children are treated too, with the same imaging and anesthesia principles adapted to their size and ability to cooperate.

The decision to proceed, delay or choose a different approach always rests with the treating surgeon and, where relevant, the anesthetist and the doctor who manages your long-term condition.

What imaging is needed before oral surgery?

Imaging is the surgeon’s map. Without it, the operation is planned by feel and memory; with it, the roots, nerve canals and sinus floor are visible before anything is touched.

The workhorse is the panoramic radiograph, often called an OPG. This is a single X-ray that sweeps around the head and lays out both jaws, all the teeth and the jaw joints on one image. It shows how deeply a wisdom tooth is buried, which way it points, and roughly where the inferior alveolar nerve (the nerve that gives feeling to the lower lip and chin) runs through the lower jaw. Small periapical films, which capture two or three teeth in fine detail, are used for single-tooth problems.

When the panoramic view suggests a root sits very close to that nerve, or when implants, cysts or jaw fractures are involved, the surgeon may request a cone beam CT scan. CBCT is a three-dimensional X-ray that rotates once around the head and reconstructs the jaw in slices, so the exact relationship between a root and a nerve canal can be measured in millimeters. It uses more radiation than a single dental X-ray but considerably less than a conventional hospital CT of the head, and it is ordered only when the extra detail will change the surgical plan.

Two practical points. First, if you have recent X-rays from another dentist, tell the team; images can often be shared and repeat exposure avoided. Second, tell the radiographer if you are or might be pregnant. Dental X-rays direct very little radiation toward the abdomen and shielding is used, but the decision to image is made case by case.

Imaging is not always mandatory. A loose, fully visible tooth may be removed on clinical examination alone. What the images do is take guesswork out of the harder cases.

Do you need blood tests before oral surgery?

Often, no. This surprises people who assume every operation begins with a needle in the arm. For minor oral surgery under local anesthetic in an adult with no significant medical history, routine blood tests add little information and are generally not recommended by anesthesia and surgical guideline groups. The medical questionnaire does most of the work.

Blood tests earn their place when your history raises a specific question. Typical examples include:

• A full blood count if you have anemia, a history of heavy bleeding, kidney disease, or a condition affecting bone marrow.
• Clotting tests if you take warfarin (a blood thinner whose effect is measured by a value called the INR), have liver disease, or have a known bleeding disorder such as hemophilia or von Willebrand disease.
• Kidney function and electrolytes if you take diuretics or certain blood pressure medicines, or if general anesthesia is planned and you have kidney disease.
• Blood glucose or HbA1c (a measure of average glucose over roughly three months) if you have diabetes, so the team knows how well controlled it is before scheduling.
• A pregnancy test where relevant before general anesthesia or sedation.
• A blood group sample before major jaw surgery, in case a transfusion is ever needed.

For people on newer direct oral anticoagulants (blood thinners that do not need routine monitoring), the timing of the last dose matters more than any blood test, and the surgeon will coordinate with the prescribing clinician on whether and how the medicine is adjusted. That decision is never made by the patient alone.

If tests are requested, they are usually done at the pre-assessment visit, and the team will tell you if any result changes the plan. A normal set of results does not mean surgery is risk-free; it simply means one category of surprise has been ruled out.

What happens at the anesthesia review before oral surgery?

The anesthesia review, sometimes called pre-assessment or pre-operative assessment, is where the plan for keeping you comfortable is matched to your body. It may be a phone call for a straightforward case or a face-to-face appointment with a nurse or anesthetist for anything involving sedation or general anesthesia.

Expect detailed questions. Have you had an anesthetic before, and how did you react? Did anyone in your family have a serious reaction to anesthesia? Do you have heart, lung, kidney or liver disease? Sleep apnea, where breathing repeatedly pauses during sleep, is particularly important because it affects how the airway is managed under sedation. Reflux, asthma, loose teeth, crowns and dentures all get noted, because the anesthetist will be working in and around your mouth.

The clinician will usually check blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation, listen to your chest, and look at your airway: how wide you can open your mouth, how far your jaw moves forward, the shape of your neck. These observations predict how easy it will be to support breathing if that becomes necessary.

You will also be told the fasting instructions and asked to bring a complete list of medicines and supplements on the day. Bring the actual packaging or a pharmacy printout rather than relying on memory; names of similar-sounding drugs are easily confused.

The review ends with a plan: local anesthetic only, local plus sedation, or general anesthesia, and where the procedure will happen. The NHS notes that general anesthesia is common for wisdom tooth removal in hospital settings and that most people go home the same day. Whichever route is chosen, the anesthetist explains the risks and answers questions, and consent is confirmed again on the day.

Local anesthesia, sedation or general: which anesthesia for oral surgery?

Three broad options exist, and the choice depends on the length and complexity of surgery, your health, your anxiety level and, to an extent, your preference.

Local anesthetic numbs a specific area by blocking nerve signals; you stay fully awake. Sedation adds a medicine, usually through a vein or occasionally by mouth or inhaled gas, that makes you relaxed, drowsy and often unable to remember the procedure, while you keep breathing on your own. General anesthesia produces a controlled state of unconsciousness, with an anesthetist supporting your breathing and monitoring you throughout.

Feature	Local anesthetic	Sedation plus local	General anesthesia
Awareness	Awake, area numb	Drowsy, often little memory	Unconscious
Breathing	Your own	Your own, monitored	Supported by anesthetist
Fasting needed	Usually not	Yes, per team instructions	Yes, per team instructions
Escort home	Usually not required	Required	Required
Typical setting	Dental chair or clinic	Clinic or day unit	Hospital or day surgery unit
Common use	Single or simple extractions, biopsies	Multiple or impacted teeth, anxious patients	Complex impactions, jaw surgery, children who cannot cooperate

General anesthesia carries the most monitoring and the most restrictions afterward, including a ban on driving, operating machinery or signing legal documents for at least 24 hours, according to NHS guidance. Serious complications from general anesthesia are uncommon in healthy people, and the NHS describes the overall risk as very low, but the risk rises with age, smoking, obesity and long-term illness, which is why the review matters.

Sedation is not a lesser anesthetic. It requires the same fasting, the same escort, and the same honesty about medicines. People sometimes assume they can drive home after “just sedation”; they cannot.

The final choice sits with the anesthetist and surgeon, taking your wishes into account.

Fasting before oral surgery: how long, and why it matters

The fasting rule exists for one reason: an empty stomach lowers the chance that stomach contents come back up and enter the lungs while protective reflexes are dulled by sedation or general anesthesia. Aspiration of even a small volume of acidic fluid can cause serious pneumonia. Fasting is not about the surgeon’s convenience.

The NHS advises that before a general anesthetic you should follow the instructions given by your hospital, which typically mean not eating solid food for about six hours beforehand, with clear fluids such as water usually allowed until about two hours before. Milk, coffee with milk, juice with pulp and chewing gum count as food for this purpose because they slow stomach emptying or stimulate acid. Your own team’s written instructions override any general figure, because timings can be adjusted for children, pregnancy, diabetes and certain digestive conditions.

Under local anesthetic alone, fasting is usually unnecessary, and eating a normal meal beforehand is often encouraged so that blood glucose does not drop while you are numb and unable to eat comfortably afterward.

Two common mistakes. The first is fasting for far too long, sometimes from the evening before a late-afternoon slot, which leaves people dehydrated, headachy and more prone to nausea. Clear fluids up to the permitted time are genuinely helpful. The second is forgetting that regular medicines usually should still be taken with a small sip of water unless told otherwise; the pre-assessment team will tell you which ones to take and which to hold, and that instruction comes from them, not from a leaflet.

If you accidentally eat or drink outside the window, tell the team when you arrive. The honest answer is far safer than a delayed one, and the operation may simply be moved later in the day.

Medicines and supplements: what your surgeon needs to know before oral surgery

Some of the most consequential conversations in oral surgery preparation are about medicines already in the bathroom cabinet. Three groups deserve particular attention, and none should be started, stopped or altered without the prescriber’s say-so.

Blood thinners come first. Anticoagulants such as warfarin and the direct oral anticoagulants, and antiplatelet medicines such as aspirin and clopidogrel, reduce clot formation. Stopping them abruptly can raise the risk of stroke or heart attack, which is usually a greater danger than bleeding from a tooth socket. For many minor extractions, surgeons proceed without interrupting these medicines and control bleeding locally with sutures and hemostatic packing. For larger procedures, the surgeon, anesthetist and prescribing clinician coordinate the plan together.

Bisphosphonates and related bone-strengthening medicines used for osteoporosis or some cancers come second. They slow bone turnover, and in a small proportion of people the jawbone heals poorly after extraction, a condition called medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. The team needs to know the medicine, the route (tablet or injection) and how long you have taken it, because the risk profile differs. Sometimes dental work is timed around treatment; sometimes the plan is simply closer follow-up.

Diabetes medicines and steroids come third. Insulin and glucose-lowering tablets interact with fasting, and long-term steroid use can blunt the body’s stress response during surgery. Both need a specific plan for the day.

Herbal and over-the-counter products matter too. High-dose fish oil, ginkgo, garlic supplements, vitamin E and St John’s wort can affect bleeding or interact with anesthetic drugs. Bring every bottle. Recreational drug use, including cannabis, should be disclosed as well; it changes how anesthetic medicines behave and is recorded confidentially.

The pre-assessment team will give you written instructions on exactly what to take and when. That written plan is the only one to follow.

Smoking, alcohol and the mouth: why the weeks before surgery count

If there is one thing within a patient’s control that changes outcomes after oral surgery, it is smoking. Nicotine narrows blood vessels, carbon monoxide displaces oxygen from red blood cells, and the act of sucking on a cigarette creates negative pressure in the mouth. Together these starve a healing socket of oxygen and can dislodge the protective blood clot, leading to a painful condition called dry socket, in which bone is left exposed after an extraction. The Mayo Clinic lists smoking among the factors that raise the risk of dry socket after wisdom tooth removal.

Smoking also affects anesthesia. Smokers have more irritable airways, produce more mucus and are more likely to cough or have breathing difficulties during and after general anesthesia. NHS pre-surgery guidance advises stopping smoking before an operation and notes that stopping even a few weeks beforehand reduces the risk of complications, with benefits continuing the longer you stop. Vaping is not a safe substitute in this context; nicotine still constricts vessels and inhaled vapor still irritates the airway. Your care team can point you toward stop-smoking support without judgment.

Alcohol matters in two ways. Heavy regular drinking affects the liver’s ability to process anesthetic drugs and can impair clotting. In the days after surgery, alcohol dilates blood vessels, can restart bleeding from the socket, and interacts with pain medicines. Most teams advise avoiding alcohol for at least 24 hours before and after surgery; if you drink heavily and might experience withdrawal, tell the anesthetist so that this can be planned for safely.

Oral hygiene rounds out the list. Arriving with clean teeth and settled gums lowers the bacterial load at the surgical site. If you have not seen a dental hygienist for a while, the weeks before surgery are a reasonable time to do so, but check with the surgical team first if the site is infected or painful.

What to do before oral surgery: the night before and the morning of

The final 24 hours are mostly logistics, and getting them right removes stress on the day.

The evening before, eat a normal meal within the fasting window and drink well. Lay out loose, comfortable clothing with a top that opens at the front, since monitoring leads and a blood pressure cuff need access. Remove nail polish or artificial nails if asked; the finger probe that measures oxygen reads through the nail bed. Take a shower and brush your teeth thoroughly, including the surgical area unless told otherwise.

Confirm your escort. Anyone having sedation or general anesthesia needs a responsible adult to take them home and, ideally, stay with them overnight, per NHS guidance. Public transport alone is not acceptable after sedation. Arrange childcare and time off work; the NHS suggests most people need a few days off after wisdom tooth removal, and it can take up to two weeks to recover fully from more involved cases.

On the morning, take the medicines the pre-assessment team told you to take, with a small sip of water, and hold the ones they told you to hold. Leave jewelry, piercings (particularly tongue and lip), contact lenses and valuables at home. Bring:

• Your medicine list or the packaging itself.
• Any letters, X-rays or scan reports from other clinicians.
• Your glasses, hearing aids and denture case if relevant.
• A phone charger and something to read; waiting times vary.
• Soft foods at home ready for afterward: yogurt, soup, smoothies.

When you arrive, expect the same questions again: name, date of birth, what you are having done, allergies, last food and drink. Repetition is a safety check, not a filing error. The surgeon will mark or confirm the site, and consent is reviewed one final time before anything begins.

What the days and weeks after oral surgery usually look like

Recovery has a fairly predictable shape, though the intensity varies with the size of the operation.

The first 24 hours are about the clot. A blood clot forms in the socket and acts as the scaffold for healing. The team will ask you to avoid rinsing vigorously, spitting, using straws or smoking during this window, all of which can dislodge it. Some oozing of blood-tinged saliva is normal; biting firmly on gauze for a sustained period usually settles it. If you had a general anesthetic, expect to feel groggy, and do not drive, drink alcohol or make important decisions for 24 hours, as the NHS advises.

Days two and three are usually the peak for swelling and discomfort. Swelling often looks worse on the second or third morning than on the first, which alarms people who expect a steady improvement. Bruising on the cheek or neck can appear a day or two later and drift downward with gravity. Cold compresses in the first day or two, then warmth after that, are commonly suggested by surgical teams. Jaw stiffness, called trismus, is common after lower wisdom tooth removal and eases gradually as you gently exercise the jaw.

By the end of the first week, most people are eating soft solids comfortably and returning to work or study. The Mayo Clinic notes that stitches, if used, either dissolve within a few weeks or are removed at a follow-up appointment. The NHS puts full recovery from wisdom tooth removal at up to two weeks for most people, though the socket itself continues to fill with bone over several months.

Larger operations, such as corrective jaw surgery, have a longer arc, with weeks of soft diet and swelling that takes months to fully settle. Your team’s written aftercare plan describes the timeline specific to your procedure, and any pain medicine plan comes from the prescriber, not from general reading.

What people often get wrong about oral surgery preparation

Myths cluster around any procedure people would rather not think about. These are the ones surgical teams hear most.

“I should stop my blood thinner so I don’t bleed.” Stopping an anticoagulant without medical advice can lead to a clot in the heart, brain or legs, which is far more dangerous than a bleeding socket. Many minor procedures go ahead with the medicine continued and bleeding controlled locally. The decision is the prescriber’s and surgeon’s to make together.

“Fasting means nothing at all, not even water.” Prolonged total fasting causes dehydration, headaches and more post-operative nausea. Clear fluids are generally permitted until a couple of hours before, per NHS guidance, and your specific instructions will say exactly when to stop.

“Sedation is basically the same as local, so I can drive home.” Sedative drugs impair judgment and reaction time for many hours after you feel normal. An escort is mandatory, and the restrictions on driving apply.

“More scans are always better.” A cone beam CT is ordered when it will change the plan, not as a default. Extra radiation without extra information is not a benefit.

“Blood tests are required before every operation.” For healthy adults having minor surgery, routine tests are not recommended by anesthesia guideline groups. Tests are targeted to a specific question in your history.

“The swelling should be gone by the next day.” Swelling typically peaks on the second or third day before it improves. Knowing this in advance prevents unnecessary worry.

“Antibiotics beforehand will prevent infection.” Routine antibiotic prophylaxis is not recommended for most oral surgery in healthy people, and overuse contributes to resistance. Antibiotics before dental procedures are reserved for specific situations the surgeon and, where relevant, your cardiologist identify.

“I’ll just tell them about the important medicines.” Supplements, inhalers, patches and occasional tablets all count. Let the team decide what matters.

Questions to ask your care team before oral surgery

Consent is only meaningful when you understand what you are agreeing to. A good surgical team welcomes questions; write yours down beforehand, because the pre-assessment appointment moves quickly.

About the procedure itself:

• Exactly which teeth or areas are being treated, and why now rather than waiting?
• What are the alternatives, including monitoring, and what happens if I choose not to proceed?
• What does my imaging show about the nerves and sinus, and how does that affect the risk of numbness or a sinus opening?
• Will stitches be used, and are they dissolvable?

About anesthesia:

• Which type of anesthesia are you recommending for me, and why that one?
• What are my exact fasting times for food and clear fluids?
• Which of my regular medicines should I take on the morning, and which should I hold? Can I have this in writing?
• Do I need an escort, and for how long should someone stay with me?

About tests and results:

• Do I need blood tests, and if so, what question are they answering?
• Will you contact my other doctors about my blood thinner, heart condition or diabetes plan?
• Who will tell me if a result changes the plan, and how?

About recovery:

• How many days should I plan to be off work or school?
• What is normal in terms of pain, swelling and bleeding, and what is not?
• Who do I call out of hours if something worries me?
• When is the follow-up appointment, and what will you check?

Ask, too, what the team would want to know from you that you might not think to mention: a fear of needles, a previous fainting episode in a dental chair, a family history of anesthetic reactions, or a religious or personal objection to blood products. These are all planned around more easily when raised early.

When to call your doctor

Most recovery after oral surgery is uneventful, and the aftercare sheet covers ordinary soreness and swelling. Certain signs, however, need prompt contact with your surgical team or, if you cannot reach them, urgent medical care.

Call the same day if you notice bleeding that soaks through gauze and does not slow after sustained firm pressure for a prolonged period; swelling that keeps increasing after the third day rather than settling; a fever, chills or feeling generally unwell; a foul taste or smell with worsening pain a few days after surgery, which can indicate dry socket or infection; pus or discharge from the wound; numbness of the lip, chin or tongue that has not begun to improve as the local anesthetic should have worn off; or pain that is escalating despite the pain plan your prescriber gave you.

Seek emergency care immediately if swelling spreads toward the throat or floor of the mouth, if you have any difficulty breathing or swallowing, if you cannot open your mouth enough to drink, if bleeding is heavy and continuous, or if you develop chest pain, sudden breathlessness, a swollen painful calf, or symptoms of an allergic reaction such as a spreading rash, facial swelling or wheeze. These are rare, but they are the situations in which waiting is dangerous.

Before surgery, contact the team if you develop a cold, chest infection, fever or vomiting in the days beforehand, if you accidentally break the fasting rules, or if a new medicine has been started since your assessment. Any of these may alter the plan, and a short phone call is far better than a cancelled slot or an avoidable complication.

Every decision about proceeding, postponing, adjusting medicines or treating a complication rests with the treating team. Their aftercare number is the most useful item on the checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do before oral surgery to prepare?

Follow the written instructions from your surgical team on fasting, medicines and arrival time; bring a complete list of all medicines and supplements; arrange an escort if you are having sedation or general anesthesia; stop smoking as far ahead as possible; and stock soft foods at home. Tell the team about any new illness or medicine before the day.

Are blood tests before oral surgery always required?

No. For healthy adults having minor procedures under local anesthetic, routine blood tests are generally not recommended. Tests such as a full blood count, clotting screen, kidney function or HbA1c are requested when your history raises a specific question, for example anticoagulant use, a bleeding disorder, kidney disease or diabetes, or before major jaw surgery under general anesthesia.

How long is fasting before oral surgery?

For sedation or general anesthesia, NHS guidance describes typical instructions of no solid food for about six hours beforehand and clear fluids such as water permitted until around two hours before. Milk and juice count as food. Under local anesthetic alone, fasting is usually unnecessary. Always follow the exact times your own team gives you.

Which anesthesia for oral surgery is most common?

Local anesthetic is the most common for single or simple extractions, with the patient awake and the area numbed. Sedation combined with local anesthetic is often used for multiple or impacted teeth or for anxious patients. General anesthesia is typically reserved for complex impactions, jaw surgery and children who cannot cooperate, usually in a hospital day unit.

Do I need a CT scan before wisdom tooth removal?

Usually not. Most wisdom teeth are planned from a panoramic X-ray. A cone beam CT scan is requested when the panoramic image suggests a root sits very close to the nerve that supplies the lower lip, or when cysts, fractures or implant planning require three-dimensional detail. The scan is ordered only when it will change the surgical approach.

Should I stop my blood thinner before oral surgery?

Not on your own. Stopping anticoagulants or antiplatelet medicines abruptly can raise the risk of stroke or heart attack, which usually outweighs bleeding from a socket. Many minor extractions proceed with the medicine continued and bleeding controlled locally. For larger procedures, your surgeon coordinates with the prescribing clinician. Follow their written plan exactly.

Can I drive home after sedation for oral surgery?

No. Sedative medicines impair judgment and reaction times for many hours after you feel normal, and NHS guidance advises not driving, operating machinery, drinking alcohol or signing legal documents for at least 24 hours after sedation or general anesthesia. A responsible adult must take you home and ideally stay with you overnight.

What if I have a cold on the day of my oral surgery?

Contact the surgical team before you travel in. A chest infection, fever or productive cough increases anesthetic risk, particularly under general anesthesia, and the team may postpone a non-urgent procedure until you have recovered. Under local anesthetic alone, a mild cold may not change the plan, but the decision rests with the treating clinicians.

How long does recovery from oral surgery take?

It depends on the procedure. The NHS estimates that most people need a few days off after wisdom tooth removal and that full recovery can take up to two weeks. Swelling usually peaks around day two or three. Corrective jaw surgery has a longer course, with weeks of soft diet. Your team’s aftercare sheet gives the timeline for your operation.

Do I need antibiotics before oral surgery?

For most healthy people having oral surgery, routine antibiotics beforehand are not recommended, and unnecessary use contributes to antibiotic resistance. Prophylaxis is reserved for specific circumstances that your surgeon, and where relevant your cardiologist or other specialist, identify from your history. If you are unsure whether you fall into such a group, ask at the pre-assessment visit.

References

• NHS – Wisdom tooth removal
• NHS – General anaesthesia
• NHS – Having an operation (surgery): Preparation
• MedlinePlus – Anesthesia

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.