Jay,

Okay, so both sides of your face feel and look the same. No swelling of any kind.... right?

The salt water rinses keep the bacteria level down during the healing phase. This site is still considered a partially open wound because you have loose bone protruding from it trying to make it's way out. So bacteria can get in there.

The probiotic is something that ideally everyone should take on a daily basis. The immune system (which is predominantly our digestive tract) is subjected to all sorts of irritants, stress, bacteria,...... you name it. One way to help restore the immune system and keep the intestinal flora in check is to make sure that we provide it with plenty of beneficial bacteria on a daily basis. Most diets do not provide enough beneficial bacteria. In fact many diets deplete it due to the chemical processing of many foods which remove most of the nutrients.

Any time you've been on an antibiotic you end up with no beneficial bacteria irrelevant of how long you were on the meds. Diet alone cannot restore enough beneficial bacteria to restore a healthy balance. Unless of course you consume mostly wholesome, unprocessd fermented foods and ocean based plants called microalgae.

In order for an antibiotic to work properly, it first has to kill off all of the good bacteria that is there to intentionally kill off any offenders. Once the meds break down that healthy bacterial barrier in order for the barrier to be built up again it has to be put there in some way. Either by diet or supplementation.

Also any time we have an infection, especially long standing and/or in the bone, we need all the help we can get to keep our immune system functioning optimally. A diet as I described about or probiotics are the only two ways to accomplish that.

So give it some thought and of course decide what you feel is best for you!

Bryanna