Post Operative Instructions after Local Anesthesia, Fillings or Crowns.
After Local Anesthesia, your child may feel numb lip, cheek, or tongue for approximately two hours following the appointment. Many children dislike the sensation of being numb, please remind the child that the feeling is only temporary and will wear off.
Please monitor your child, so he/she does not chew, scratch, suck or play with the numb area. These actions may cause minor irritation to a severe swelling and abrasion of the tissue leading to a white patch that takes approximately two weeks to heal.
Therefore, please closely watch your child and have them on liquid diet until the anesthesia wears off.
If stainless steel crown or a space maintainer is inserted, please help your child avoid sticky items such as gum, tootsie rolls, jolly rancher, taffy, Carmel or any chewy sticky candies that could easily pull or distort the crown/space maintainer off. If your appliance comes loose, please save the appliance and make an appointment as soon as possible.
After white/resin filling, your child may feel slight sensitivity if the filling was too deep or close to the nerve. Over short time period the sensitivity subsides as the tooth starts to heal. Please, follow your regular home care to maintain the integrity of the tooth and the filling. However, if medicament placed over the deep filling did not form the dentin bridge (healing process) and the tooth continues to hurt, then the tooth needs baby nerve treatment and stainless steel crown in order to preserve the tooth.
Post Operative Instructions after an Extraction.
DURING THE FIRST 24 HOURS:
It is important that a blood clot forms on the extraction site to stop bleeding, reduce pain, and speed healing. To protect the clot and avoid the pain of dry socket. Don't Spit, and don't suck on candies or through a straw.
BLEEDING: Some bleeding and oozing is to be expected for several hours. Avoid spitting and use of a straw as they may provoke oozing. Keep firm pressure on the gauze pack for 30 minutes and then discard. If bleeding is more than slight, use sterile gauze or a moistened tea bag over the area and again apply firm pressure for 30 minutes.
DISCOMFORT: If prescription was given, use as directed. The prescription should be filled promptly and taken exactly as directed before the local anesthesia wears off. Do not take pain medication on an empty stomach as it may cause nausea if prescription was not given, over -the - counter medications (Children's Motrin or Advil) can be taken as directed.
SWELLING: Some degree of swelling is normal and can be minimized with the use of ice or cold packs applied to the face at the extraction site for 15-20 minutes and then remove for 15-20 minutes. This should only be done for the first 24 hours. Maximum swelling will occur about the second or third post-operative day and then slowly recede.
DIET: A soft or liquid diet is recommended for the first few days following surgery. Until local anesthesia (numbness) wears off, be careful chewing to prevent biting the numb area. Use 1 tsp of warm salt water rinses 4 times a day to control swelling and to keep the area clean.
CARE OF MOUTH: Resume brushing and flossing, but clean gently around the site about a week.
ACTIVITY: Resume a calm activity for next 24 hours.
NOTE: If antibiotics were prescribed, continue to take them for time indicated length of time, even if all symptoms and signs of infection are gone.
If any problems arise or if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call us at (708) 579 - 5437.