Home Care Instructions

Crown Preparation and Temporary Crowns

After the anesthesia has worn off, the gums around your teeth may be sore. Warm salt water rinses will help soothe your gums. You will have a temporary crown on your tooth until your crown is seated. The temporary crown will not be as smooth as your natural tooth or the finished crown.

As the crown is glued on to be a temporary measure, please don’t eat anything hard or sticky on that side. It’s fine to floss your other teeth but don’t floss next to your temporary crown.

Your temporary crown serves several functions, if it comes off or breaks, it is imperative that you return as soon as possible to have it put back on. If it comes off in one piece, as a temporary solution, apply a small amount of Vaseline or denture adhesive inside the temporary crown and place it carefully back on the tooth. This will protect the tooth until you can come into the office. It is very important that you do not go without your temporary crown for more than a day or two. Even that long can allow adjacent teeth to drift into the space that your permanent crown needs to fit properly.

If the temporary crown comes off, just give us a call on 93254175, we can put a new one in a short appointment at no cost.

Root Canal

Once a root canal has been preformed, your tooth may be sore for a couple of days. The tooth may be hitting high and need adjustment. Sometimes a temporary filling is placed in the tooth. Some of this material may come out in between appointments which is not necessary to be replaced because usually enough thickness of temp filling is covering the cavity to seal the access to the canals.

Fillings

White fillings are as hard as they are going to get before you leave the office. You might feel some discomfort from the band used to form the filling, there may also be some cold sensitivity right after the procedure. If your discomfort continues or gets worse, please notify the office. The most common issue with a new filling is that after the anesthesia has worn off, you may feel that the filling is high (you are hitting that area first), if this happens, please call to schedule a short appointment to have the filling adjusted.

Implant Crown Placement

After implant crowns are placed, care must be taken to keep them clean. Daily brushing and flossing is especially important and it is imperative that you continue with your follow up cleaning visits and regular checks to protect your investment.

Periodontal Treatment

The following information is important for proper healing during and after your periodontal treatment. Please follow these instructions to get maximum results. We suggest that you follow this order:

1. Brush at least twice daily

2. Floss once daily

3. If recommended use the Proxabrush, picksters as instructed.

4. If prescribed for you, use your mouthrinse as instructed.

5. Return for your periodontal reevaluation on your recommended schedule. Our goal is to prevent the progression of your periodontal disease and enable you to keep your teeth for your entire life!

Following scaling and root planing (gum therapy), your gums may still have a tendency to bleed for several weeks. As the periodontal disease is treated and the pockets heal you will notice the gums will feel tighter around the teeth and will not bleed as easily as they once did. Good news, your periodontal disease is getting better!

Discomfort or pain should be mild and should subside in a few hours to one day. You may notice a slight throbbing or aching after the anesthetic wears off.

You may notice that your teeth are sensitive to temperature changes and/or sweets. This usually diminishes after the first several days. If the sensitivity persists, use a desensitizing toothpaste such as Sensodyne.

Whitening Instructions

Whitening is one of the easiest ways to improve the appearance of your smile. However, it is important that you follow the directions carefully to achieve the best results possible. Be sure to call us if you experience any problems such as gum irritation or sensitive teeth during your treatment.

1. Brush and floss your teeth.
2. Apply whitening gel to the inside of the trays. Do not overfill the tray.
3. After inserting the tray, gently remove excess gel that may flow beyond the tray’s edge.
4. Do not eat, drink or smoke while wearing trays.
5. Avoid talking while wearing trays as excessive mouth movement allows saliva to wash away the whitening gel.
6. After 30 minutes, remove the tray. Brush and rinse the residual gel from the teeth and tray.
7. You may whiten your teeth up to twice a day, separated by at least 4 hours.

We will see you back in the office in about two weeks to evaluate the results. During this time, your teeth will be especially susceptible to re-staining so try to avoid smoking, coffee, tea, cola, red wine, etc. as they will slow down the whitening process.

Once you reach a shade you are happy with and/or your teeth aren’t getting any lighter you will stop daily treatment, but be sure to keep your trays and any left over gel since they can be used for touch-ups, as needed, to keep your teeth looking their whitest!

Tips

• We give you 6 tubes of whitening gel to start with, keep the tubes you are NOT USING in the refrigerator to prolong it’s shelf life. Allow the gel to return to room temperature prior to using it.
• A little gel goes a long way…if it is oozing out of the tray, use less.
• Do not “fill up” your trays with gel…you are only whitening the FRONT of your teeth. You also do not need to put gel on the teeth that “don’t show” when you are smiling.
• Some people have sensitive teeth to begin with and others “develop” sensitive teeth while whitening. in either case, we recommend that you start using Sensodyne toothpaste before you start to whiten and continue to use it throughout the process.
• If the whitening gel gets on your gum tissue, it may create a white spot – do not attempt to rub it off! If the area is not painful, leave it alone and it should return to normal within a few hours.

Extraction

After a tooth is extracted a clot forms over the extraction site creating a protective layer that hastens the healing process. If this clot is removed or disturbed, the resulting “Dry Socket” can be very painful. Follow these instructions! They will help you avoid unnecessary pain and inconvenience that can occur if the clot is dislodged.

THE BIG THREE! – Three common activities that will result in “Dry Socket”.

DO NOT – 1. Smoke 2. Use a straw 3. Drink carbonated beverages

DON’T RINSE your mouth or SPIT for 24 hours.

KEEP FINGERS AND TONGUE away from the extraction site.

BLEEDING. A small amount of bleeding after an extraction is normal. If the bleeding is unusual or inconvenient, place a sterile gauze over the extraction site, bite down and hold firmly in place for 20 minutes. Repeat if necessary.

FOODS AND LIQUIDS. Avoid hot liquids; a light diet of soft foods is best during the first 24 hours.

SWELLING. Some swelling after an extraction is normal. Place an ice pack (frozen peas or a plastic bag or a towel filled with ice will work fine) and hold it against the swollen area for 5 minutes on and 10 minutes off for one hour.

NEXT DAY. Rinse your mouth gently with a solution of salty warm water after meals. Repeat as necessary for the next 2 or 3 days.

BONY PROJECTIONS. After a tooth is extracted, you may feel a hard splinter or edge in your mouth. This is a portion of your bone which surrounded the roots of your teeth and will generally wear away or work itself out.

ANTIBIOTICS. If antibiotics are prescribed, take all of it as prescribed even though your symptoms may improve. If symptoms other than those described occur, call Dr. Matin at 0477298463

BRUSHING. Brush normally around all of your other teeth to keep the bacterial count down. Avoid the extraction site with the brush. Use the rinses above to cleanse the area.

New Restorations

If a new filling, crown, removable partial denture or full denture feels high or if something feels in the way when you bite, please call the office so we can get you in to make the appropriate adjustments.

Crown Lengthening

If crown lengthening has been performed, there might be a pink bandage over the surgical site. If this should come loose or fall off, please notify the office so it can be replaced. Do not brush the area with a toothbrush.

Medication Info

Prescription Pain Medication

Best pain medication in dentistry is a combination of 2 over the counter painkillers:

1 tablet Paracetamol 500mg and 1 tablet Ibuprofen 400mg every 6 hours or if severe pain every 4 hours(with some food) if pain lasts longer than 3 days stop taking medication and inform the practice.

You can always contact Dr Matin at 0477298463 if you are in pain which is not responding to medication.

Adverse Reactions

If you are having an adverse reaction to any medication, stop taking it and let us know immediately.