What should be done after surgery to maintain oral hygiene? I have purchased the following Biotene products which were recommended by the OCF: mouth wash, mouth moisture spray, super soft tooth brushes, toothpaste.

How soon after surgery can my brother uses these products? If he can use them immediately, I will see that he has them in the hospital.

I know this is a minor question, but these preparations are something I can do right now and they make me feel better.

I think it best to wait until after his mouth heals some before starting the brushing of the mouth. Use the mouthwash and it wil help a lot. Can you get him Magic Mouth Wash? That is one thing that refreshes and numbs.

I just googled "Magic Mouthwash" and I got this.

"Magic mouthwash can also be used for pharyngitis, canker sores, and cold sores. One common formulation of the mouthwash contains one part each of viscous lidocaine, Maalox and Benadryl."

And this.

"Another combination contains 12.5 mg Benadryl, 60 ml Maalox, 4 grams Carafate, and xylocaine. Swish, gargle and spit 5-10 ml of this formulation every six hours as needed."

Which do you recommend or do you have another recipe?

Different doctors have different formulations but I thought that "magic mouthwash" is not an over the counter mixture (OTC) but a prescription one, in which case you should ask your brother's doctor for a script. I personally hated it and found that it made me gag and choke despite trying three different formulas but the majority of posts here at OCF found it helpful.
The best thing you can do for your brother's oral hygiene is to make sure the hospital gets you a referral to a dentist or prothodontist who specializes in oral cancer care. I was lucky that my CCC radiation department plus my ENT both recommended the same prothodontist. Once the mouth heals up, getting flouride trays to use daily for life is very standard.
I have all my teeth going on three years after diagnosis and TX and the month I took off of any standard tooth brushing & mouth care after surgery had zero impact - my mouth was just a mess of sores and far too sensitive to anything except water and seltzer water.
Charm

Thanks for the advice. I will check to see who my brother's local dentist recommends. He lives in another state. He will be living with us after surgery. We don't as yet know what adjuvant therapy he will have.

Since he went on all his exams by himself and had no one to ask questions for him, there is a whole lot we don't know. He didn't want to scare anyone so kept the whole thing a secret for two months.

When I found a lump in my breast, if my husband hadn't gone to every doctor's appointment with me, I would have not asked a single question or understood a single thing the doctor said. All I heard was cancer blah blah blah.

My Oncologist's recipe is what I use. It doesn't last for a long time and one reson is I take it before meals and at bedtime. Maybe if it wasn't before meals and at bedtime, the effects would last longer. I have no idea how long it lasts at bedtime because I am pretty relaxed from the percocet and xanax.

Thanks for the help, ExJim. It means a lot.