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After Care Instructions
Crowns or Bridges (Fixed Prosthesis)
You have just had some crowns or fixed bridges cemented onto your teeth. They will replace your missing tooth structure or missing teeth very well and should give you years of service if you will observe the following suggestions:
Chewing: Do not chew hard or sticky foods on the restorations for 24 hours from the time they are cemented. The cement must mature to have optimum strength.
Continuing Care: Visit us at regular intervals as discussed with your doctor or hygienist. Often problems that are developing around restorations can be found at an early stage and corrected easily, while waiting for a longer time may require redoing the entire restoration. Inadequate return for examination is the most significant reason for prostheses failure. We will contact you when it is time for your appointment.
Preventive Procedures: Use the following preventive procedures:
- Brush and floss after eating and especially before bedtime.
- Use bridge cleaners as advised by us.
Sensitivity: Don't worry about mild sensitivity to hot or cold foods. It will disappear gradually over a few weeks.
Aggressive Chewing: Do not chew ice or other very hard objects. Avoid chewing very sticky "hard tacky" candy because it can remove restorations.
Problems: If one or more of the following conditions occurs, please contact us to avoid further problems:
- A feeling of movement or looseness in the restoration.
- Sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet foods that doesn't disappear in a few weeks.
- A peculiar taste from the restoration site.
- Breakage of a piece of material from the restoration
- Sensitivity to pressure.
Information About Your New Dentures
We have done our best to provide you with well fitted, functional, and esthetic artificial dentures. We feel confident that after a few weeks of becoming adjusted to the new dentures, you will have years of satisfaction and use from them.
The following information will be helpful to you at this time:
Your First Few Weeks: New dentures always feel strange when first placed in your mouth. Several days or even weeks will be required for you to feel accustomed to them.
Sore Spots: Usually, your mouth will have a few sore spots after wearing the dentures for 24 hours. Don't worry about these areas. They can be relieved with very little effort on your next appointment. A second appointment about 7 days later will usually eliminate any other sore areas.
Chewing: The new bite or occlusion will not feel comfortable for a period of days. We will adjust the contacting surfaces of your teeth after 24 hours if necessary and again in about one week after the dentures have settled into place.
Wearing Dentures to Bed: Your dentures should not be worn to bed. By keeping your dentures out at bedtime, your gums and jaw bones are given a rest and shrinkage of these tissues is kept to a minimum. Please follow the cleaning instructions given to you.
Upper VS. Lower Dentures: Your upper denture will rest comfortably in place with moderate to strong suction. Although your lower denture will have good stability, it is infrequent that suction can be expected on a lower denture. We suggest that you avoid denture adhesives unless you really have difficulty.
The Future: Your jaw bones and gums shrink up to 1/32 of an inch per year when the teeth are missing. This is one of the main disadvantages of artificial dentures. Because of this shrinkage, you should plan to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated once per year by us. We will inform you when lining or rebasing of the dentures is necessary. Wearing ill fitting dentures for too long without refitting can cause severe bone loss and very serious oral diseases. We look forward to helping you adjust to and enjoy your new dentures.
Temporary Crowns or Bridges (Fixed Prosthesis)
You have just received a plastic restoration that will serve you a short period of time. A few comments about this temporary restoration will be helpful to you.
Chewing: The temporary cement requires about one-half hour to set. Please do not chew during that period of time.
Temporary restorations are not strong. Do not eat anything sticky and do not floss them. If they break, call us and we will replace them. If you are not where you can contact us, go to a pharmacy and get Fixodent. Place the temporary on your tooth with some Fixodent holding it in place. Some patients have found that Vaseline also helps to retain the temporary restoration in place until you can see us. Please do not leave the temporary out of your mouth because the teeth will move and the final restoration will not fit. Certain foods will stick to the temporary restoration. This is not the case for the porcelain or gold restoration to be cemented soon.
Color: The color of the plastic temporary does not resemble the final restoration in any way.
Shape, Size: The anatomy of the temporary plastic does not resemble the final restoration in any way.
Tooth Sensitivity: Temporary restorations may leak saliva or food into the tooth. Sensitivity to cold, hot, or sweets in not uncommon. This will not be the case with your later restoration.
Tooth-Colored Restorations
You have just received some tooth-colored restorations. The material used in your teeth is a plastic with small filler particles of glass-like material. These restorations will serve you for several years. They have been constructed with the finest and most up-to-date materials available. However, you should be aware of the following information about your new restorations:
Recalls: Visit us at regular recall periods. Often problems that are developing around restorations can be found at an early stage and corrected easily, while waiting for a longer time may require redoing the entire restoration. We will contact you when it is time for your recall.
Preventive Procedures: Brush and floss after eating and especially before bedtime.
The Future: We expect that you will receive several years of service from these restorations. However, after watching these restorations for many years, we have seen the following situations occur which are unavoidable and may require restoration replacement:
- Depending on the foods you eat and other factors, there may be a slight change in the color of the restoration over a period of years. When it gets objectionable to you, they should be replaced.
- Some restorations will demonstrate slight strains at some place around the edges. Please tell us if this occurs.
- The gums (gingiva) may recede from the restorations, displaying discolored tooth structure underneath. This usually takes place over several years and requires replacement. We have done our best to provide you with the finest quality oral restorations available today. However, as with a fine automobile or watch, only your continuing care and concern can assure optimum service longevity.
Porcelain Veneers
We have placed porcelain veneers on your teeth. These restorations were placed with the finest materials and techniques available today. However, you should be aware of the following information about your restorations:
Chewing: As with natural teeth, avoid chewing excessively hard foods on the veneered teeth (hard candy, ice, raw carrots, bones, etc.) because the porcelain material can be broken from the teeth under extreme forces.
Recalls: Visit us for examinations and checkups at regular six-month examination periods. Often, problems that are developing with the veneers can be found at an early stage and repaired easily, while waiting for a longer time may require redoing entire restorations.
Preventive Procedures: To provide optimum longevity for your restorations and to prevent future dental decay and supporting tissue breakdown, please use the following preventive procedures:
- Brush with a fluoride-containing toothpaste and floss after eating and before bedtime.
- See our dentists regularly.
The Future: We expect you will receive several years of service from these veneers. However, after watching veneers for many years, we have seen the following situations occur occasionally. They are unavoidable and may require restoration replacement:
- Extreme force or trauma can break porcelain veneers, just as the same force can break natural teeth. Use care in sports or other potentially traumatic situations. We recommend an athletic mouthguard in these instances. Do not bite extremely hard objects with one tooth. Breakage usually requires remaking the restoration, but occasionally it can be repaired.
- After a few years, some veneers may demonstrate slight stains at some locations around the edges. Please tell us if this situation occurs. Repairs can usually be accomplished.
- The gums (gingiva) may recede from the veneers, displaying discolored tooth structure underneath. This situation usually takes place over several years and requires veneer replacement.
We have done our best to provide you with the finest quality oral restorations available today. However, as with a fine automobile or watch, only your continuing care and concern can assure optimum service longevity. Replacement of the restorations may be required in several years.
Tooth Whitening Instructions
The tooth whitening system is a chemical process that dramatically lightens the shade of your natural teeth (it has no whitening effect on crowns or fillings). Replacing crowns and fillings to match your new tooth color should be delayed until after the whitening treatment is completed. Crown and filling replacement is not included in the fee for the whitening treatment. Your whitening treatment may or may not include an in-office treatment.
The color lightening effect is obtained by wearing the whitening gel in custom trays (we make for you) covering your teeth. We recommend wearing the trays up to two (2) hours a day.
Patient Instructions:
- After dinner, brush your teeth with your regular toothpaste.
- Take a syringe and twist the cap so that the tip is directly over the circular black washer.
- Hold the mouth tray parallel to the floor.
- Find the impression of your two front teeth and count back six teeth (either side), start there on the one side.
- Slowly press down on the plunger of the syringe with your thumb. Express a little bead of the gel into that tooth indentation. Alternate pressure so that you express a string of material from one tooth indentation to the next, with slightly heavier beads in each indentation.
- Use 1/2 cc. in each tray.
- Draw back excess material left in the tip and twist the lock cap into its locked position.
- Wear for one (1) hours. Then repeat steps 2 through 7 for another one (1) hour period. Thus, wear the trays for up to two (2) hours per day.
- Keep the syringes refrigerated when not in use.
- Depending on the amount, these syringes should last 7-12 days.
