Help With Avalon

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I recently inherited a 95 Avalon which seemed to be in pretty decent shape. I drove it around a little and it seemed to drive fine. After a mechanic had inspected it, he told me he had to drop the oil pan becuase there was some sludge buildup in there and I guess he tried cleaning the pan. Now after a cold start the car seems to put out a ton of white smoke for about 30 seconds. This did not happen before. Its pretty embarassing and not sure what to do now. I was thinking of changing the oil, but not sure if thats going to help. He said he did it but it looks like its pretty low anyways. What weight oil is recommended and should I go with a synthetic oil? What kind of filters can I put in? Im pretty handy with BMWs but Im new to the toyota scene. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it. -thanks