We hope that you have had a pleasant experience in our office as your dental needs were being treated. We want your experience to continue to be pleasant even after you leave our office so here are some helpful reminders.

You or your child have been given anesthesia so that the dentist could treat the teeth. You or your child may feel numb for approximately 2-3 hours after this dental work. This is only an approximation and the effect of this anesthesia may actually be shorter or longer depending on each individual. Don’t worry as the feeling in you or your child’s mouth will come back eventually. Often times, we will recommend taking a nap after having dental treatment. This is so that when you wake up from the nap, the medicine will have had a chance to wear off and while you’re sleeping, we don’t have to worry about biting yourself accidentally.

Please remind your child not to bite their lip or cheek until the numbness goes away!

You will need to keep a very close watch on your child as they will often times become very curious of the numbness and ‘test’ it by biting their lip or cheek or even pinch it with their fingers. It only takes a second, so please keep a close watch!

Please be aware that if you or your child has had fillings or crowns placed on lower teeth, the tongue may also be numb. Avoid eating right after treatment so that you limit the chances of biting your tongue. If it is necessary to eat something, please stick to a soft diet where you won’t need to chew much. Some good ideas may be mashed potatoes, Jell-O, applesauce, warm soups, or ice cream.

If you or your child has had fillings placed, there are some important facts that you should know:

• There is normally very little discomfort from a filling. However, if the cavity was very deep and close to the nerve, it may be sensitive – especially to hot or cold things. This is normal. This kind of sensitivity will usually go away with time as the tooth heals. Most likely, we have placed medicine underneath your deep filling to help the tooth heal and help with sensitivity.
• If you are having discomfort while chewing after a filling was placed, we may need to adjust it. In this instance, we would need to see you or your child as soon as possible to correct the problem.
• In some cases, when we place a deep filling or restoration, the nerve may have already been affected too much and the nerve may continue to die. If you are having discomfort from a large filling that doesn’t seem to be getting any better, please let us know. Your tooth may need to have the nerve treated.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the office.