• Fillings
• Crowns or Caps
• Scaling and Root Planing
• Root Canal Treatments
• Extractions
• Denture Delivery

• When anesthesia has been used, your lips, teeth, and tongue may be numb for a few hours after the appointment. Avoid biting your lips or tongue if possible.
• It is recommended to take ibuprofen or acetaminophen before the anesthetic wears off to help with any pain or swelling at the injection site.

Sensitivity is common after a composite (or white) filling is placed. This sensitivity is considered normal and should taper off. It is recommended to rinse your mouth several times a day with warm salt water to help reduce pain. If extreme sensitivity persists, (extreme sensitivity to hot or cold, wakes you up in the middle of the night, etc), please make an appointment so we can evaluate your situation.

Tenderness on gums/gingiva - this may be common with particularly deep fillings around the gum area. Soreness should subside within a few days.

Chewing - You may chew right away if you have had new white fillings placed. Again, just be aware of your numb lips, tongue and teeth. If you have had silver fillings placed, do not chew on them until the next day. This is necessary to allow the silver filling to harden and become strong.

If your bite feels uneven or you have persistent pain, please call our office.

A crown is placed over a tooth to give it strength. Your tooth has been prepared for a porcelain or gold restoration. While we are waiting to receive the final restoration from the lab, a temporary crown has been placed over your tooth to protect it from sensitivity and movement.

Sensitivity to hot, cold, sweets or biting is common after a crown preparation. This is normal. If sensitivity becomes severe or lingers for more than a few seconds to a minute, please call our office for an evaluation. Also please contact us if you have pain when biting on your temporary crown for more than about one week.

The gingiva (gums) around your teeth may be sore. This is due to the crown preparation and your gums will heal within days.

• eat anything sticky, chewy or hard. This can break or displace the temporary crown.
• Brush with a Sonicare^TM or other powered toothbrush around the temporary.

• brush carefully around the temporary with a manual tooth brush.
• When flossing, floss down between the teeth toward your gum around your temporary and pull the floss through (do not floss up away from your gum as the temporary can be dislodged).

The temporary crown is just that . . . it is temporary. We must be able to remove it from your tooth the day your permanent crown is placed. If we can remove it, so can you.

If the temporary crown comes before your crown is ready, the tooth may be sensitive. It is important to place the temporary crown back on as soon as possible. If you can get to the office, give us a call first and we will do our best to see you that day. If you happen to be somewhere that you cannot come into the office, go to a grocery store or pharmacy and pick up temporary cement or temporary filling material (DenTemp^TM, Poligrip^TM, Fixodent^TM, are examples), place the temporary filling material in the cleaned inside of your temporary crown and place it back on your prepared tooth.

Your temporary crown may feel rough to your tongue and may not look or fit like your permanent crown will. You can feel confident that your final crown is being made with the best materials by the finest lab technicians. We look forward to delivering your permanent restoration very soon.

Following Scaling and Root Planing (Deep Cleaning), we expect you will notice less redness, less bleeding and less swelling of your gum tissue. Your mouth should look, feel and taste cleaner. Our expectations include tightening of the gums and resolution and improvement of the deep pockets around your teeth.

Discomfort - should not be severe, but slight soreness in the day or so after the deep cleaning is normal. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen will help to minimize this discomfort if necessary.

Tooth Sensitivity - teeth may be sensitive to changes in temperature and sweets. This may be due to the tightening of the gums and exposure of the roots of the teeth. A home fluoride or desensitizing agent may be recommended if the sensitivity continues. We have these available in our office.

Bleeding - some bleeding may occur during the next several brushings. This should taper off and subside after a few days with adequate home care including brushing and flossing regularly.

Appearance - As the gingiva (gums) around the teeth heal, they may change shape and color. As mentioned before, our goal is for the gums to tighten up around the teeth - this may cause a change in appearance. More tooth may become exposed in the mouth. This is normal and is preferable to the presence of swollen, irritated tissue and pocketing around the teeth.

Diet/Eating - if extensive Scaling and Root Planing was done, chewing harder foods may cause slight discomfort. This may last a few days and a softer diet is recommended until it becomes more comfortable to chew.

Oral Hygiene at Home - Gum tissues may be tender. Brush your teeth gently, but thoroughly. It may take more time, but it is important to keep up your home regimen. Ibuprofen or acetamenophin may help to minimize this tenderness. Additionally, rinsing your mouth with warm salt water, chlorohexidine (dispensed by our office, such as Perioguard^TM) or Listerine^TM will be helpful.

Scaling and Root Planing is only the beginning to your new, healthy smile. It is of great importance to follow a strict oral hygiene routine at home including brushing and flossing twice everyday - the health of you and your teeth depends on it. Additionally, it may be necessary for you to visit our office for check-ups/cleanings more than the generally recommended two times a year until we can ensure adequate care of your teeth.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, call our office and we would be happy to assist.

Root canal therapy may take up to two appointments to complete. Anesthetic has been used so your lips, tongue and tissue may be numb for a few hours following the appointment. Try to avoid biting your lips and tongue if possible.

After root canal treatment is completed, a crown may be recommended to give strength to the tooth and prevent future breakage. The nerve of a tooth is about 90% water. When a nerve is removed, most water within the tooth is removed making the tooth very brittle and more subject to fracture. A crown will surround the brittle tooth and protect it from fracture. This is especially important on back teeth as they are important in chewing.

A temporary filling has been placed in your tooth. It is common for the temporary filling to wear down or portions to break off over time. This is why it is important to return to our office to receive your permanent restoration as soon as possible. If your temporary filling comes out completely, call our office to schedule an appointment for us to replace it. Again, a timely return to our office to permanently restore your tooth is recommended.

Soreness and discomfort for a few days following root canal treatment is expected. Pain medication may be prescribed by the doctor and can be used to help control discomfort. Ensure any pain medication prescribed by the doctor is taken as recommended. If swelling or infection occurred, an antibiotic may also be prescribed. Make sure to take the entire round of antibiotic to assure proper and complete healing.

If swelling or pain does not subside, please call our office for an evaluation.

Bleeding - Your bleeding should essentially be stopped by the time you get home. After you get home and take out the gauze, it is usually not necessary to place more gauze in your mouth unless there is still bright red blood coming from the extraction area or you are spitting out blood clots. To have blood present when you spit, or have your saliva look bright pink is normal for the first day following extraction. If you do require the placement of more gauze, be sure it is directly over where the tooth or teeth were and be sure you bite with considerable force (this may be a little sore if you are biting hard enough). Leave this second gauze in for 30 minutes while you are resting and biting. You should avoid falling asleep with the gauze in place or passively leaving the gauze over the extraction site because it will act like a sponge and continue to draw blood from the area.

Infection - The best way to prevent infection is to keep your mouth clean. This should be done by brushing your teeth in the usual manner after each time you eat.

Pain - Pain may be the most severe the first day, and then diminish each day thereafter. Pain that goes away after two or three days, especially after you have had wisdom teeth removed, and then comes back is not normal. If that happens, please call the office immediately. This is generally an easy problem for us to treat if you just let us know.

Swelling - Swelling, if it occurs, is usually the result of the surgical procedure and not from the infection. This is true if the swelling is present the day of surgery. This swelling should begin to go away about the third day following the operation. If swelling is still present 5-6 days following surgery, this may represent the development of an infection and our office should be notified.

Eating - On the day of surgery, keep your diet soft. Starting the day after your surgery, eat as well as you can, even if it means relying entirely on liquids. A well balanced diet is essential to rapid healing.

Medications - If medications have been prescribed for you, take them as directed on the label with a full glass of liquid. If the medication causes your stomach to feel upset, it may help to take it with food, unless specified differently on the label instructions. Pain medications in particular should not be taken on an empty stomach. You should not drink alcohol, drive motor vehicles, or work around machinery when taking pain medication.

Do's - you may use an ice bag to reduce discomfort, swelling and possibly bleeding the first 12 hours following surgery. Do not leave the ice pack against the skin for more than 15 minutes at a time (you may frost-bite your cheek).

Don'ts - DO NOT rinse for 48 hours. DO NOT suck on the wound. Also avoid smoking, drinking through a straw and drinking carbonated beverages for 48 hours following surgery.

Note - Even with pain medication, expect moderate discomfort, some swelling and some minor oozing of blood for the first 24 hours. However, if severe pain, swelling or bleeding occur, call our office immediately. If this is after our regular office hours, there should be an emergency contact number for you to reach someone or leave a message.

After delivery of your new (or newly re-lined) dentures, sore spots may occur and some adjustments may be needed. This is normal and expected. To ensure your comfort, we would like you to return to our office within 48 hours to check any sore spots that may have developed and relieve them. Additional adjusting in the following weeks as you become accustomed to the fit of your new dentures is also recommended. We will continue to adjust until the fit is comfortable to you.