Your personal instructions come first.
Use this page as a reminder of the guidance you received in the office. If anything here differs from the directions provided by your dentist, follow your dentist’s directions and call us with questions.
Immediately After Treatment
- Wait to eat until numbness has worn off so you do not bite your lip, cheek, or tongue.
- For the first day, choose soft foods and avoid extreme temperatures, sticky foods, and hard or crunchy items.
- Call for an adjustment if your bite feels high or uneven after the anesthetic wears off.
Sensitivity and Oral Hygiene
Mild injection-site soreness or temperature sensitivity can be normal. Sensitivity may last days, weeks, or longer depending on the depth of the restoration, but it should improve. Contact us for pain that worsens, lingers, occurs randomly, or wakes you at night.
- Brush and floss normally, using a gentle touch around the treated area.
- Use warm saltwater rinses if recommended and avoid irritating alcohol-based mouthwash.
- Do not chew ice, pens, fingernails, or other hard objects.
Appliances and Follow-Up
A retainer, occlusal guard, bite splint, or sleep appliance may need adjustment after restorative work. Attend scheduled follow-up visits and wear a recommended guard to reduce the risk of restoration or implant failure from overloading.
Call Us If
- Your bite feels high or uneven after numbness wears off.
- A filling, bridge, veneer, or crown feels loose, chips, or comes off.
- Pain, swelling, or sensitivity is severe, persistent, or worsening.