Post Operation Instructions

• After Fillings
  For an hour following your visit, do not chew. Wait until numbness subsides before eating. Do not bite your lips, cheeks, or scrape your gums. Children should be watched carefully to make sure they don’t do this. It will damage soft tissues and result in pain. Sensitivity to cold and heat, as well as any soreness, should go away in a few days.
• Dental Extractions
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• Post-Operative Instructions for Tooth Extraction BLEEDING
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• Preserving a Knocked Out Tooth
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• Treating a Chipped Tooth
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• Broken Braces
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• After Losing a Crown or Filling
  Immediately following surgery, keep the gauze pad placed over the surgical area with pressure applied by biting down until the bleeding stops. A certain amount of bleeding is to be expected following a surgical procedure. Placing the gauze pad over the area and biting firmly may control excessive bleeding. Slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva is not uncommon. Repeat as necessary within a one-hour period following surgery. Swelling around the face, eyes and surgical site is not uncommon. This swelling may not appear until the day following the surgery and may become more noticeable two to three days following surgery. You can help to minimize the swelling by applying a cold compress on the face near the extraction site alternating on for 20 minutes then off for 20 minutes. After 36 hours the ice will have no further impact on swelling. After this period, the application of moist heat to the sides of the face can help reduce swelling. After the first day, gently rinse with a warm salt water rinse, approximately one-half teaspoon of salt in an eight ounce glass of water, three times a day.
• Post-Operative Instructions Following Crown & Bridge, Crowns, Inlays, or Onlays
  WHILE WEARING A TEMPORARY CROWN OR BRIDGE: You will wear temporary restorations until your permanent restoration is made (unless we have made a CEREC one-visit restoration for you). It is normal for the gum around the tooth to be tender for a day or two. If the tenderness persists any longer than two days, please call the office immediately so we can check the temporary restoration and make any needed corrections. If the temporary restoration comes loose or breaks, please call us. If the temporary restoration is off for even a short time, the tooth can shift position and cause the final restoration to not fit well. Please avoid eating with the temporary restoration as much as possible. Carefully clean around the restoration with a toothbrush and floss every day. When you do floss, pull the floss carefully out the side to avoid pulling the restoration off. In certain cases, we may advise you not to floss the area until your final restoration is delivered. Avoid sticky foods and chewing gum on the temporary restoration to avoid pulling it off. Slight discomfort, sensitivity and tenderness are possible after a tooth has had dental treatment, but if any of these persist for more than a day or two, please call the office. AFTER THE PERMANENT RESTORATION HAS BEEN DELIVERED: Chewing: Do not chew hard foods on the restorations for 24 hour from the time they were cemented. The cement must mature for about 24 hours to have optimum strength. Sensitivity: Mild sensitivity to hot or cold foods is common. It should disappear gradually over a few weeks. Infrequently, sensitivity lasts longer than six weeks. Please tell us if this occurs. Aggressive chewing: Do not chew ice or other hard objects. Avoid chewing very sticky foods such as “hard tack” candies because they can damage or loosen the restoration.