Livonia, MI dentist Dr. James Stewart provides cosmetic, restorative, general, and preventive dental care to patients of all ages from across the greater Farmington Hills area. To help you achieve the healthiest and most attractive smile possible, Dr. Stewart will use every aspect of his expertise while you’re in his dental chair. Still, Dr. Stewart’s efforts can only be preserved if you take care of your dental work after you leave our dentist office. Over the next few weeks, we’ll cover what you should do to protect your newly treated smile following your dental procedures.
Caring for Your Dental Filling
Today, Dr. Stewart wants to discuss caring for your dental work after dental filling, crown, and bridge appointments.
Depending on your needs, Dr. Stewart might use anesthetic when placing a dental filling. If local anesthetic is used, your lips and tongue may feel numb for several hours following your procedure. To protect yourself from biting your tongue or burning your mouth, avoid chewing and eating or drinking anything hot until the numbness subsides. It’s also normal to experience some soreness in your gums, as well as sensitivity to heat, cold, and pressure following your appointment. If this occurs, rinse your mouth three times a day with warm salt water to reduce any swelling and discomfort.
If you’ve had a silver filling placed, avoid chewing on your filling for at least twenty-four hours. You can use a tooth-colored filling normally immediately following your appointment.
Caring for Your Dental Crown and Bridge
Because dental crown and bridge procedures usually take two or three appointments to complete, the proper care of your restorations following each appointment is crucial to ensure the success of the entire procedure.
At your first appointment, your teeth will be prepared for your restoration. While your permanent crown is being handcrafted at the state-of-the-art dental laboratory, Dr. Stewart will place a temporary crown. On rare occasions, temporary crowns fall off before it’s time for your next appointment at our Livonia dentist office. If this occurs call us immediately at (734) 425-4400 and keep the temporary crown safe so that we can re-cement it until your permanent restoration is complete. To ensure the safety of your temporary crown—and your final restoration for up to 24 hours after its placed—avoid eating sticky and hard foods, chew on the other side of your mouth, and brush and floss normally, but carefully.
Like with dental fillings, you might experience numbness, tooth sensitivity, and gum soreness following crown and bridge appointments. These symptoms should subside in just a few days.
To reserve an appointment with Dr. Stewart, call our Farmington Hills general dentist office at (734) 425-4400 or visit us online at jamesstewartdds.com.