If you have an oral surgery coming up, you might not be looking forward to the healing process. However, preparing for your aftercare now rather than waiting until after your surgery can help. These are a few steps to take to make healing a little bit easier. 

1. Make Transportation Plans

In many cases, you should not attempt to drive yourself home after oral surgery. In fact, it's often better to avoid public transportation as well. This is because the sedatives that are used during the surgery might not have time to wear off before you leave and head home, so you might not be fully coherent. It is best to go ahead and arrange for transportation after your surgery, such as by asking a friend or family member to take you to and from your appointment.

2. Stock Up on Easy-to-Eat Foods

You may have trouble eating a lot of your favorite foods in the hours and even days after your oral surgery. You don't want to find yourself starving and unable to find anything to eat while you are healing, however. This is why it's a good idea to go ahead and stock up on easy-to-eat foods now so that they will be there when you are ready to eat them. For example, you may want to stock up on gelatin desserts and pudding. You can purchase cans of soup, or you can make homemade soup and mashed potatoes and stash them in your home so that they are ready to eat. 

3. Prepare Not to Smoke

If you are a smoker, you should prepare to refrain from smoking after your surgery so that you don't get in the way of the healing process. You may want to use a nicotine patch instead, so consider picking one up to help you through this process. Make sure that you ask your doctor to ensure that your nicotine patch will not interfere with your medication or cause other problems while you are healing after your oral surgery.

Healing from oral surgery might not be something that you are looking forward to. However, you can make it a whole lot easier for yourself if you start thinking about your aftercare before you ever go in for your oral surgery appointment. Follow these three steps beforehand, and you're sure to find the healing process to be a lot easier and a lot less stressful. For further assistance, contact a local oral surgeon, such as Miller Kenneth G.