SMILES

Taylor had her hard palate repaired on Sept. 18 which is now 4 weeks and 3 days. She had her post-op visit 2 weeks after surgery and all was well.

I looked at her mouth this morning and it looks to be healing well. No open places, only a few stitches left and no red, irritated or infected looking places.

But she has a terrible mouth odor. It's not like an infection odor but more like a food odor. We brush her teeth after each meal. And we give her water with every meal to rinse the food down.

However I have been having a problem since the surgery with food "packing" up into the roof of her mouth and in the hole left behind her gums after surgery. Her surgeon said to take a syringe and rinse it away. She still has food coming out of her nose too.

So what about this mouth odor? Is it food stuck in the hole that I can't get out? Is it normal after surgery? Is it the stitches dissolving? The smell is there even after brushing her teeth.

I sure would appreciate suggestions on how to get rid of it. Thanks!

Did they give your child antibiotics after the surgery? Antibiotics kill bad and good bacteria. Probiotics help replenish the good ones.

Jennifer, Luckily our PS told us to expect the odor for 4-6 weeks. His exact words were "it will smell like something crawled in there and died!" (Our PS is a hoot!) If he had not told us, I would have been worried too, it was terrible!!! He said that it had to do with the packing and some of the tissue that was cut back dying off. (Not sure if that made sense??!!) anyway, wouldn't worry too much, but if you notice it for much longer I would give them a call. Hope that helps!
Allison