PATIENT INFORMATION

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• Infection Control
• Home Care Instructions
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Home Care Instruction

After Filling

Most of the time, an anesthetic is given to numb the tooth prior to filling a cavity. The numb feeling lasts for some time after your child’s dental visit. This numb feeling can affect the lips, cheek, and tongue for up to several hours after the visit. Your child should be kept on a soft or liquid diet until the numbness wears off. Parents should also watch the behavior of children that may be injurious during this time of numbness. This includes hands or fingers in the mouth, chewing motions while your child has no food in the mouth, or obvious lip biting or gnawing.

Occasionally, despite our best efforts, curious children still manage to bite their lip or cheek. If this happens, rest assured that the injury looks far worse than it is, and within a day or two tissues heal completely and without complication. A bitten lip should be kept moist with Vaseline or a suitable antibacterial ointment. Children should be given adequate fluids which will also serve to regularly flush the affected area and aid in healing.

After Tooth Extraction

Following a tooth extraction, the most important immediate precaution is constant pressure at the site of extraction. Your child should bite on a soft gauze. The gauze should be replaced every few minutes or when the gauze become wet with saliva. This should be repeated for about thirty minutes, or until bleeding has stopped.

Diet should be limited to soft bland diet and should commence only after numbness wears off. Spicy foods and foods which require a great deal of chewing should be avoided.

For several hours following an extraction, your child should refrain from strenuous activity, as this can cause bleeding at the extraction site to recur. The day of the extraction, it is not necessary to brush in the area immediately adjacent to the extraction site. However, as early as the following morning, children can return to regular brushing of all teeth, unless otherwise directed.

After Root Canal Treatment

Following root canal treatment, children are numb and will remain so often for up to several hours after the dental visit. Therefore, the child should stay on a soft diet until numbness wears off. If your child has been prescribed an antibiotic to help resolve the underlying dental infection, it is important to complete the entire course of antibiotic therapy regardless of whether the child’s discomfort is completely resolved or not. Root canal treatment on primary teeth is often less complicated than on permanent teeth. However, the long-term prognosis for your child’s treated tooth may vary depending on the specific type of root canal treatment and/or the extent of the initial infection. Although the vast majority of root canal treated primary teeth remain problem-free until they are ready to fall out naturally, occasionally treated teeth need further examination and treatment. Dr. Lam will thoroughly review the possible outcomes, what to expect and what future treatments may be required for root canal treated teeth.

If a root canal treated tooth has a temporary filling placed, it is important for your child to avoid foods that are sticky or excessively hard until the following visit. Otherwise, the most common permanent restoration following root canal treatment on a primary tooth is a crown. To ensure that the crown is properly cemented to the tooth, it is important for your child to completely avoid chewing on the treated tooth for two hours following the dental visit.

After Fluoride Treatment

Topical fluoride treatment is performed usually after a cleaning visit. In general, topical fluoride has ability to absorb into and help strengthen the surface of teeth for about 30 minutes following application. For this reason, patients are advised not to eat, drink, or rinse for thirty minutes following fluoride application. When caries risk is higher, or for particularly sensitive teeth, a high concentration fluoride varnish is used in place of the conventional topical fluoride treatment. In this case, patients are again advised not to eat, drink, or rinse for thirty minutes following application. However, varnish continues to adhere to the teeth and absorb for up to four hours. Therefore, although children can eat and drink after thirty minutes, hot foods and liquids should be avoided. Furthermore, the varnish should not be brushed off until the evening brushing that day.