After A Smile Makeover/Full Mouth Reconstruction
It will take your body a while to get used to the feeling of your new bite alignment. When your teeth are altered or re-positioned in any way, it takes your body a few weeks to adjust to the changes. However, if you feel like you are experiencing any issues with the new bite alignment after the adjustment period, call our office to schedule a consultation.
After a dental procedure, it is normal to experience tooth sensitivity, as it takes time for your teeth to heal and adjust to their new position. It is also common to experience gum soreness. Salt rinses and ice compresses can help bring down any pain or swelling. You can also take over the counter pain medication, such as Tylenol or Motrin. It is important to follow the instructions on any medication you may take, and to not exceed the recommended doses.
If you experience speech issues during the first few days after your treatment, do not be alarmed. This is just your brain adjusting to the new tooth alignment and should subside within a month or so. You also may experience an increase in saliva production. This should subside within a month or less.
Caring for your dental work is crucial. It is imperative to keep up with your regular brushing and flossing to ensure the longevity of your teeth. It is also important how to keep up with regular dental visits for cleaning.
Foods that may cause damages to your new teeth should be minimized and/ or avoided, like nuts or ice. Do not bite down on pencils, pens etc, you may risk fracturing/ breaking restorations. It is important to avoid sticky candies, as well as foods that stain your teeth, like coffee and red wine. If a night guard is prescribed, it's imperative it is worn to protect against the damage of clenching and/or grinding
If you are going to be participating in sports, we can craft you a custom made mouth guard. The same can be done if you grind your teeth at night, as it is important to protect your new teeth against all forms of damage.
It takes time to adjust to your new smile. If you run into any issues, or have questions or concerns, feel free to call our office, we’re always happy to help. As always, notify us immediately if you have persistent pain, or any other health concerns related to your oral care.
After Crown and Bridge Appointments
It can take two or three visits to complete dental crowns and bridges.
Local anesthetic may be used during the procedure, there may be some residual numbness in the mouth. It is best to avoid drinking or eating until after the numbness has subsided in order to avoid injury.
In some cases, the temporary crown/ bridge may come loose. Contact our office if this happens for re-cementation, as it is important for the crown/ bridge to stay in place to protect the tooth/ teeth and allow for the best fit of the permanent crown or bridge.
It is best to avoid sticky, hard or crunchy foods while you have a temporary crown/ bridge, and to chew on the other side of the mouth when possible. However, brushing and flossing should be carried out normally, with the exception of being careful not to floss off the temporary crown/ bridge. It's best to floss down/up towards the gum and pull the floss out though the teeth. DO NOT pull the floss back out from between the teeth, Pull it through the contact between the teeth.
Pressure or temperature sensitivity is normal after a dental procedure, and should decrease over time . Mild pain medication may also be suggested to treat discomfort while your teeth are healing. As long as your symptoms are trending better with time, you are headed in the right direction. If you ever feel like your symptoms are getting worse again. Please con tact us.
Any continual unevenness of bite, or constant pain, should be taken care of. Make sure to call our office if you have any questions after our procedure.
After Tooth Extraction
Clotting is imperative to the healing of an extraction site, which is why you should be careful of an extraction site after your appointment. We have you bite down on a gauze pad to aid the formation of the blood clot, which speeds up the recovery process. Any bleeding or oozing after the procedure can be taken care of by changing the gauze pad, and may need to be repeated up over 24 hours. It is normal to find traces of blood in your mouth after the extraction.
It is important to make sure the blood clot stays in place to aid healing. Avoid brushing the extraction site, sucking on straws, or vigorous rinsing for at least 72 hours after your procedure. Any of these activities can remove the blood clot and severely slow the healing process. It is also important to not exercise vigorously for at least 24 hours after your procedure, as it can cause more bleeding at the extraction site and slow the formation of blood clots.
Swelling and pain is normal after a tooth extraction, and can be lessened by using an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas. It is also important to take pain medications as per prescribed, which will help ease any discomfort and limit inflammation at the extraction site. Swelling should go down within a week after your extraction.
If your medication does not seem to be working, call our office to get recommendations from the dentist. If antibiotics were prescribed, take them for the full time prescribed, even if the infection itself seems to have abated. You can resume eating as per usual, based on your comfort level. Usually, hard, crunchy, acidic and spicy foods can be irritating to the extraction site/s. They should be avoided for the first week unless they are comfortable to consume.
Normal dental care can be resumed after 24 hours, including brushing and flossing regularly. This can help speed healing and prevent infections.
If : your bleeding continues heavily after 24 hours; you continue to have severe pain after a week and do not feel like there has been any improvement; you feel like you are having an allergic reaction to medication; you have a fever over 100, call our office as soon as possible.
After Composite Fillings (white fillings)
Localized anesthetic can last for a couple of hours after the appointment, and may cause lip and tongues to be numb for an extended period of time. Avoid chewing, drinking hot beverages, or any hot foods until after the numbness has gone away, as it is very easy to injure your tongue or cheek while your mouth is numbed.
Injection sites may be sore after your procedure, and it is normal to experience temperature and pressure sensitivity as well. Tylenol and Motrin can be used to alleviate discomfort as per dosage instructions on the bottle and can help bring down swelling. However, if any symptoms last over four days, contact our office immediately.
Composite fillings are alright to chew on as long as all numbness has gone away, as they are functionally safe to use as soon as you leave our office.
Temperature sensitivity is normal after a dental procedure. It can last a few days to a few months, depending on the severity of the clinical situation. Chewing sensitivity is NOT normal and you should return to our office as soon as possible for a bite adjustment. Temperature sensitivity will never subside if you also have chewing sensitivity, The bite needs to be adjusted ASAP for symptoms to subside completely.
If you have any questions, or constant, lingering pain, call our office to get expert advice from our dental team.
