1. Avoid touching areas of your gums that have been treated with Arestin.
2. Wait 12 hours before brushing your teeth where Arestin has been placed.
3. Do not floss, use waterpicks, toothpicks, etc. for 10 days after the placement of Arestin.
4. Avoid eating hard, crunchy, or sticky foods for 1 week after treatment.
5. Always follow-up for the re-evaluation appointment that is scheduled for 4-6 weeks after treatment.

1. When anesthetic has been used, your lips, teeth, and tongue may be numb for several hours after your appointment. Avoid any chewing until the numbness has completely worn off.
2. It's normal to experience some hot, cold, and pressure sensitivity after your appointment. Your gums may be sore for several days. Rinse three times a day with warm salt water (put a tsp. of salt in a cup of warm water, rinse-swish-spit) to reduce pain and swelling.
3. In the past, people were instructed to not chew on new silver fillings for up to twenty-four hours. With today’s tooth-colored fillings, the material hardens immediately. If the numb feeling isn’t present, there is no need to wait.
4. If your bite feels uneven, if you have persistent discomfort, or if you have any other questions or concerns, please call our office.

1. Brush and floss your teeth.
2. Place Flouride gel in trays and leave in for 5-10 minutes.
3. After you take your trays out, expectorate as needed, but DO NOT rinse your mouth out or eat or drink anything for 30 minutes.
4. You can brush your trays clean, but do not rinse them with hot water, because your trays are plastic and they can distort.
5. Continue on a daily basis to help prevent decay.

1. Root canal therapy often takes two or more appointments to complete. A temporary filling or crown is placed to protect the tooth between appointments. After each appointment when anesthetic has been used, your lips, teeth, and tongue may be numb for several hours after the appointment. Avoid any chewing until the numbness has completely worn off.
2. Between appointments it is common (and not a problem) for a small portion of your temporary filling to wear away or break off. If the entire filling falls out, or if a temporary crown comes off, call us so that it may be replaced.
3. It’s normal to experience some discomfort for several days after a root canal appointment, especially when chewing. To control discomfort, take medication as recommended. To further reduce tenderness and swelling, rinse several times a day with warm salt water (a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, rinse-swish-spit).
4. If antibiotics are prescribed, continue to take them as prescribed, even if all symptoms and signs of infection are gone. To protect the tooth and help keep your temporary in place, avoid eating sticky foods (especially gum), hard foods, and if possible, chew only on the opposite side of your mouth. It’s important to continue to brush and floss normally.
5. Usually, the last step after root canal treatment is the placement of a crown on the tooth. A crown covers and protects the tooth from breaking in the future. If your bite feels uneven, if you have persistent swelling or discomfort, or you have any other questions or concerns, please call our office.

A temporary crown is a custom-fitted acrylic covering which is secured with a pliable cement while your permanent restoration is being fabricated. Since it is made of acrylic, it might not feel as smooth as a natural tooth and it can be susceptible to fracture or loosening.

Important things to remember:

1. Try not to chew on the affected area.
2. Avoid hard or crunchy foods.
3. Don’t chew gum or sticky foods.
4. When flossing, pull the floss out through the side, not back through the contacts with adjacent teeth.
5. If a crown comes off, do not leave it off…the teeth can drift, causing the permanent crown to not fit optimally.

If your temporary crown happens to come off, clean and dry the inside, then line the inside of it with Vaseline, gently dry the tooth with a clean wash cloth and carefully place it back on the tooth until you can get back to the office for us to re-cement.

Of course, any such situation is good reason to contact us.

By following these instructions, you should have no problems with your temporary crown or bridge.

1. Brush and Floss your teeth.
2. Place a small dot of whitening gel into the front surface of trays in each tooth slot.
3. Use about ¼ of each syringe per arch.
4. Position the trays on the teeth and leave for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. After removing trays, brush teeth and trays with toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
6. Repeat for a total of up to 14 days.
7. If you have an unused syringe left at the end of the process, store it in the refrigerator.

Touch-Ups

• You can touch up as often as you like.
• Everyone’s teeth stain differently…some require more whitening than others.
• Remember, a touch-up is just one day…you don’t have to repeat the 14-day process.

*Following removal of a tooth, you will be asked to bite on a gauze pad for up to 45 minutes. It's important to establish a clot in the site of the extacted tooth.
*If bleeding or oozing continues, another gauze pad should be placed and bite firmly for another 30 minutes. This might be repeated several times.
*An ice pack can be placed on the skin in the affected area to minimize swelling... this can be done for about 10 minutes every half hour or so during the first 24 hours following the extraction.
*Keep the head elevated above the level of the heart in order to minimize swelling and throbbing.

***Do's***

• Take medications as directed.
• Drink plenty of water and maintain a soft diet until a normal diet can be comfortably resumed.
• After the first 24 hours & after meals, gently rinse the mouth with warm salt water 3x daily.
• Resume normal flossing and brushing of the teeth and tongue to encourage healing and fresher breath.

**Don'ts**
    For the first 24 hours:

• No smoking.
• No alcohol.
• No spicy, acidic, or hot food or drink.
• No strenuous activity which might increase blood pressure and loosen the clot
• Don't brush or floss next to the extraction site to avoid dislodging the clot.

Call us right away if you have heavy bleeding, severe discomfort, or swelling which persists after 2-3 days.
Of course, any negative reaction to medications should be reported imediately.
After a few days you should be feeling fine and able to resume normal activities.