Getting a new dental crown or bridge is a fantastic step toward restoring your smile’s health and appearance. To ensure a smooth recovery and the best possible outcome, understanding how to care for your teeth during the post-operative period is essential. Following these instructions will help you protect your temporary restoration, manage any discomfort, and prepare your smile for its permanent new addition.
This guide from Hillside Dental provides everything you need to know after your initial appointment, from handling numbness to adjusting your diet and oral hygiene routine.
Understanding Your Temporary Restoration
After your dentist prepares your tooth for its final crown or bridge, they will place a temporary restoration. This temporary piece is more than just a placeholder; it serves several vital functions. It acts as a shield, protecting the prepared tooth from potential damage and sensitivity. It also keeps your adjacent teeth from shifting, which could alter the precise fit of your final, custom-made crown or bridge.
Think of your temporary as a crucial stand-in. It is crafted from a less robust material and secured with a weaker dental cement than your permanent restoration. This is done on purpose, allowing for easy removal at your next appointment. Because of its delicate nature, it requires some special attention and care.
Immediately Following Your Appointment
It is completely normal for your tongue, lips, and the roof of your mouth to feel numb for a few hours after your procedure. This is the effect of the local anesthetic wearing off. To prevent accidentally biting your cheek, tongue, or burning your mouth, please refrain from eating and drinking hot beverages until the numbness has completely disappeared.
You may also experience some sensitivity to temperature changes and pressure once the anesthetic wears off. This is a normal part of the process and should begin to fade within a few days. To alleviate any discomfort, you can take an over-the-counter pain medication, such as ibuprofen. If you find that your pain progressively worsens or becomes more than a mild discomfort, it is important to contact our office.
Your Diet: What to Eat and What to Avoid
For the first 24 hours after your procedure, it is best to stick to a diet of soft foods. This helps the temporary cement set properly and significantly reduces the risk of damaging or dislodging your temporary restoration.
Here are some excellent soft food choices:
- Jell-O or pudding
- Applesauce
- Greek yogurt
- Scrambled eggs
- Mashed potatoes
- Oatmeal
- Cooled soups
- Macaroni and cheese
- Ice cream or smoothies
- Finely chopped chicken or ground beef
After the initial 24-hour period, you can start reintroducing more foods into your diet. However, you must continue to avoid anything hard, crunchy, or sticky until your permanent crown is placed. Foods like nuts, hard candies, popcorn, caramel, and chewing gum can easily break your temporary or pull it off the tooth.
If your temporary crown is on one of your front teeth, take extra care. We recommend cutting up your food into smaller pieces and chewing with your back teeth. You should avoid biting directly into foods like apples, corn on the cob, or crusty bread.
Oral Hygiene: How to Brush and Floss
Maintaining good oral hygiene is as important as ever, but you will need to be gentle around your temporary crown or bridge. It is essential to continue brushing your teeth at least twice a day. When you brush around the temporary restoration, use careful, gentle strokes.
Flossing also requires a slight modification in technique to prevent dislodging the temporary. Floss as you normally would, but instead of lifting the floss back up between the teeth, you should carefully pull it through to the side. Pulling the floss upward can catch the edge of the temporary and pop it off.
Sometimes, the gums around a temporary crown can become sensitive or slightly inflamed. If you notice this, a warm saltwater rinse can provide relief. Simply mix half a teaspoon of salt into a half cup of warm water and rinse four times a day. This simple solution helps soothe irritated tissue and promotes healing.
What to Do If Your Temporary Comes Loose
Even with careful attention, a temporary restoration can sometimes become loose, damaged, or even fall off. Your temporary plays a vital role in protecting your tooth and holding the space for your permanent crown. If it comes off, the underlying tooth is left exposed, and neighboring teeth could begin to shift, compromising the fit of your final restoration.
Should your temporary crown or bridge need recementing or become damaged, please get in touch with our office as soon as possible. We will be happy to schedule a quick appointment to repair or recement it for you. It’s important not to use household glues or adhesives to try and fix it yourself, as these can damage the tooth and interfere with the fit of your permanent crown.
Your Smile is Our Priority at Hillside Dental
Following these post-operative instructions is the best way to ensure your recovery is comfortable and your final restoration fits perfectly. A little temporary sensitivity is normal, but this feeling should subside a few weeks after the placement of your final crown or bridge.
At Hillside Dental, we are dedicated to providing you with outstanding care throughout your entire treatment process. If you have any questions, experience significant pain, or feel that your temporary restoration is loose, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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915-500-3643
Visit Our Office:
Hillside Dental
9040 Dyer Suite 102
El Paso, TX 79904
Contact us for any assistance you need. We are here to help you achieve and maintain a healthy, beautiful smile.