Post-Treatment Care

White fillings are finalized with a curing light and do not require any special restrictions following treatment. Occasionally tooth sensitivity may result from the procedure and can be noticed as discomfort to cold or pressure. These symptoms generally decrease with time. If they appear to be getting worse with time, please contact our office.

It is best to eat a soft diet for the first twelve hours following an appointment for silver fillings. Occasionally sensitivity may result from the procedure and can be noticed as discomfort to cold or pressure. These symptoms generally decrease with time. If they appear to be getting worse with time, please contact our office.

Following an extraction you will have gauze inserted over the extraction site and a packet of sterile gauze in a plastic sleeve to take home.

This original gauze should be left in place with pressure exerted on it for about thirty to forty minutes. At that time, the gauze should be removed and discarded. Take two new pieces of gauze out of the plastic sleeve, fold them in half, place them over the extraction site and exert pressure for another thirty minutes. This process should continue until the bleeding has stopped saturating the gauze.
Do not suck on the extraction site or disturb it with your tongue.
A slight amount of blood may leak from the extraction site over the next twenty-four hours. However, if heavy bleeding returns, call our office.

Refrain from heavy exercise, lifting, or jarring for twenty-four hours.
Refrain from drinking from a straw for twenty-four hours.
Refrain from tobacco and alcohol for twenty-four hours.
Refrain from rinsing your mouth vigorously for twenty-four hours.
Refrain from brushing and flossing around the site for twenty-four hours.

Any swelling should be treated with cold compresses to the cheek.
Soreness should be expected from the extraction area for several days.

Prolonged severe pain, swelling, bleeding, fever, nausea, or vomiting should be reported to our office. See the emergency section for further information on this situation.

Take any medication prescribed to you as directed. Do not increase the number of doses or the amount of the doses.

It is not unusual for the prepared tooth and surrounding gum to be sore for two or three days following this procedure. If soreness persists longer than one week, please notify the office. This temporary soreness can usually be alleviated with over-the-counter pain reliever and salt water rinses.

Following crown and bridge preparation appointments you will wear a temporary to retain the natural spacing and protect the prepared teeth. It is important that you take the following actions to maintain the temporary and keep it in place:

Following the procedure, rinse several times a day for the first three days with six ounces of warm water mixed with one tablespoon of table salt.

Avoid eating any sticky or gooey food with the temporary.
Brush your temporary twice per day and floss the temporary once per day. Be sure to use your bridge-threader when cleaning your temporary bridge.

When flossing around the temporary, remove the floss by pulling the inserted floss straight out the front of the mouth instead of pulling it up.

Avoid chewing hard food, ice, or any foreign object with the temporary.

See the section below on temporary crowns and bridges for further information.

Temporary crowns and bridges are necessary to retain natural spacing of the teeth and protect the prepared teeth. If a temporary comes off, it is important to wear it as much as possible until it can be cemented back into place.

By placing a dab of petroleum jelly or toothpaste inside the temporary crown and fitting it back onto the preparation, it can usually be worn during the day until you are able to get into the office to have it recemented.

The temporary will fit only one way onto the prepared tooth. Please remove it at night to prevent accidental swallowing. Do not apply any type of glue inside the temporary or on the prepared tooth.