DENTAL FAQ's

Dental FAQ's

What to Do After a Filling

While an area is numb avoid eating or chewing as you may be more likely to bite your tongue or your cheek. After that for most fillings performed treat the restoration like a tooth. Routine home care and use is just fine.
If an Amalgam or silver colored filling was placed, avoid hard, crunchy or chewy foods in that area for 24 hours. This will allow the material to set to full strength.
Your gums may be sore for several days. If needed rinse your mouth three times a day with warm salt water (put a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, rinse and spit) to reduce pain and swelling. 
If the tooth is more than a little tender to bite or has become sensitive to temperature changes please contact Island Family Dentistry as the filling may benefit from a slight adjustment.

Post-Operative Instructions for an Extraction

Immediately after the extraction(s) you will have gauze applying pressure to the extraction site. Keep the pressure on for 45 minutes. Sometimes a sip of cool water can help to let the gauze fall from the mouth after it has been in for a while.  

If a Site is still bleeding take additional gauze, folded and rolled, and apply pressure for another 45-minute interval. Repeat as needed.

If a Site continues to bleed, a damp tea-bag placed directly on the area with pressure should help. Remember Pressure and Elevation is what stops bleeding.

After the first 24 hours following surgery, rinse gently with warm salt water after every meal. This can continue 1-2 weeks. Brush gently avoiding the extraction sites for 1-2 weeks.

You may wish to take over the counter pain medications for discomfort. Good examples of pain relievers are Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Tylenol.

Smoking, Vaping, sucking through a straw, or spitting should be avoided for at least the first 24 hours after the procedure as it dramatically increases the risk of Dry Socket.

Scaling and Root Planing (“Deep Cleaning”) Explained

A regular preventive cleaning removes only the soft sticky plaque that is above the gums. Scaling and root planing is done to remove tartar or hard crusty calculus that is loaded with bacteria, around and below the gums. It is a method of treating gum disease when pockets have formed around the teeth.
Scaling is a procedure that meticulously removes contamination, toxins, micro-organisms, plaque, tartar and calculus that has accumulated around and below the gum line in order to obtain a healing response. Root planing involves smoothing the root surfaces of our teeth with a variety of instruments. The procedure makes it more difficult for plaque to build up on the root surfaces, this will help to prevent tooth loss and sensitivity problems. Due to the deeper nature of this procedure compared to a regular cleaning your mouth will be numb to minimize any discomfort. The Deep Cleaning will usually take two visits to complete depending on the extent of the disease or condition.
  • After the Procedure

    It is important to start brushing, flossing and continue your prescribed oral hygiene regime immediately. Your gums may be tender and you may have to Take it Easy at first, but make every effort to keep your mouth plaque free. We further recommend rinsing a warm salt-water solution 2-3 times on the day of your treatment. (½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda to 8oz water). If your gums are tender you may want to swish with this solution for 2-3 minutes every hour.

  • Discomfort

    Some discomfort may be expected when the anesthesia wears off. You may wish to take over the counter pain medications for discomfort. Good examples of pain relievers are Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Tylenol.

  • Smoking

    Smoking and Vaping should be stopped since chemicals in the smoke and vapor can radically reduce the benefits of this therapy.

  • Eating

    Your next meal should be soft. Avoid hard or crunchy foods for 3-4 days to provide gums the best opportunity. You may find that spicy or acidic foods like tomatoes irritate your gums. 

  • Follow-up Care

    Unfortunately, a deep cleaning alone does not cure the periodontal disease, excellent home care and routine follow up supportive care is essential. After a deep cleaning there is a bacterial biofilm that can take an additional 6-9 months to completely remove. We recommend a six-week follow-up appointment and supportive cleaning where we can see how recovery is progressing. We often take this time to help modify any home care concerns or needs for optimal effect on gingival health. At this phase we set our re-care or periodontal maintenance appointment frequency to every 3-months to help maintain great oral hygiene. Our goal is to get you and your healthy mouth back to routine 6-month cleanings.

Routine Cleanings and General Home Care Instructions

At Island Family Dentistry we view Routine cleanings and Exams, or Re-care appointments as Preventative appointments. The appointments allow us an opportunity to evaluate the health of the teeth and the supporting gums, as well as to help ascertain the effectiveness of a Patient's home care. As each patient has individual needs the frequency of our examinations, cleanings, x-rays or radio-graphs is determined by the Dentist. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends for most individuals routine cleanings and exams every 6 months.
  • Home Care

    Home care is an important contributor to oral health, and can help to lessen the need for extensive dental intervention in the future.

  • General Recommendations
    • Brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
    • Clean between teeth daily.
    • Eat a healthy diet that limits sugary beverages and snacks.
  • Personalized Recommendations
    • For patients with increased risk of gum disease, consider mouth rinse or toothpaste with proven antimicrobial activity.
    • For patients with increased risk of caries, consider fluoridated mouth rinse.
    • For patients who struggle to clean between their teeth, consider what interdental cleaning tool might be best (waterpik, air flosser, floss bows).
    • For patients seeking or needing improved plaque removal, consider a power toothbrush.
  • Lifestyle Considerations
    • Avoid do-it-yourself orthodontic treatment options
    • Drink Fluoridated water
    • Consider Tobacco Cessation (smoking, aping, smokeless tobacco)
    • Avoid Oral Piercings

How to Brush Your Teeth

Place the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums.
Move the brush back and forth GENTLY in short stroke (tickly little circles).
Brush the outer surfaces, the inside surfaces and the chewing surfaces of all teeth.
To clean the inside surface of the front teeth, tilt the brush vertically and make several up-and-down strokes.
Brush your tongue to remove bacteria and keep your breath fresh.

How to Floss

Use about 18 inches of floss wound around one of your middle fingers, with the rest wound around the opposite middle finger.
Hold the floss tightly between the thumbs and forefingers and gently insert it between the teeth.
Curve the floss into a “C” shape against the side of the tooth.
Rub the floss gently up and down, keeping it pressed against the tooth. Repeat for the other tooth in the same space. Don’t jerk or snap the floss.
Floss all your teeth. Don’t forget to floss behind your back teeth.

Temporary Crown Instructions

Care

Avoid chewing gum, nuts, hard candies and sticky foods until the definitive crown is placed.
Do not brush or floss too vigorously around your temporary crown
Floss by coming down through the top of the teeth and then remove floss by pulling it out from the side (do not floss up and down with the temporary crown)

If your temporary crown falls off:

Call us immediately!!! (360) 679-7227. Although the tooth may feel “okay”, the tooth can shift(move) causing the definitive crown to not fit properly.
Do NOT re-cement your temporary crown with Super Glue! Super Glue is very toxic and can “burn” the tooth causing damage to the nerve.
If it is after hours, a holiday or a weekend the Temporary crown can be recemented using an over the counter temporary dental material available in most drug and grocery stores. Often a thin coat of Vaseline around the inside of the temporary can help to re-seat the temporary crown.

Pain

You may experience some discomfort after the anesthetic wears off and your tooth may also feel sensitive to hot or cold until we get your definitive crown cemented in place.
If your gums are tender Rinse with warm salt water as needed (1/2 tsp salt with 8oz water).
You may wish to take over the counter pain medications for discomfort. Good examples of pain relievers are Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Tylenol.

Bite Feels Off

If your bite feels “off” or “not even” – Call us so we can make an appointment to adjust your bite. Biting too hard on this tooth can cause the tooth to ache.  Please don’t feel that you can “just get used to it”! You may damage the temporary and the tooth!

Tooth Knocked Out?

Find the Tooth
Pick it up by the crown (The Chewing Surface) Not the Fleshy Root
If dirty gently rinse the tooth with water.
Reposition the tooth back in the socket immediately, if possible…yeah its gross
If the tooth won’t go back in place, put it in a glass of milk or sterile saline solution
Get to the dentist Immediately 

Care Instructions for Dentures, Partials, Night Guards

Before cleaning, be sure to fill sink with water or lay a soft towel in bottom of sink. Acrylic can break if dropped.
Rinse denture/partial under warm water after each meal to remove loose food debris….while you are at it rinse out the mouth as well.
Removable appliances should be brushed daily with a soft toothbrush or soft denture brush.
They can be brushed with warm water, soap or denture paste.
Be sure to bring them to dental appointments to check fit and we can clean them for you.

Bleach Tray Instructions

  • Brush and floss teeth prior to whitening, whitening is most effective on clean teeth.
  • Make sure trays are clean and dry prior to dispensing whitening gel into your trays.
  • Remove syringe from case and snap tip cover from the end.
  • Load the tray, depress the plunger and fill each reservoir spot in tray with a pearl of gel, from the second premolar to the second premolar.
  • Position tray over your teeth and gently press tray to move the gel into place. Wipe away any excess gel, which seeps over the brim of the tray, off you gums with a tissue or your finger (next time use less gel).
  • Wear tray
    • Daytime use: 30-60 minutes once or twice a day
    • Nighttime use: Wear up to 8 hours
    • If sensitivity occurs switch to daytime use instructions
  • After whitening, remove the tray and rinse your teeth. Brush away any remaining gel.
  • Clean your whitening trays with a toothbrush and cold water. Store trays in the tray holder and gel in a cool dry place away from heat or direct sunlight.
  • *** Avoid dark colored liquids and foods such as coffee, tea, red wine, raspberries, or cranberries and tobacco products for several hours after whitening.

MI Paste Instructions / Prevident Toothpaste instructions

  • MI Paste
    • Apply using a clean finger, tooth brush or custom tray
    • Leave undisturbed for a minimum of three minutes
    • Spread around the mouth and teeth with the tongue and hold for on to two minutes
    • Expectorate (spit), do not rinse and avoid food or drink for 30 minutes
    • Nightly application is the standard recommendation
    • For High risk patients, apply both morning and night
  • Prevident Toothpaste Instructions
    • Adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age or older, apply a thin ribbon of paste to a clean toothbrush. Brush thoroughly once daily for two to three minutes, preferably at bedtime.
    • After use, adults expectorate (spit). For best results, do not eat, drink or rinse for 30 minutes minimum, preferably overnight.

TMJ Pain or Discomfort

Often jaw problems resolve on their own in several weeks to months. If you have recently experienced TMJ pain and/or dysfunction, you may find relief with some or all of the following therapies.
  • Moist Heat.

    Heat from a heat pack or hot water bottle wrapped in a warm moist towel can improve function and reduce pain. Be careful to avoid burning yourself.

  • Ice.

    Ice packs can decrease inflammation and also numb pain and promote healing. DO not place pack directly on your skin, and do not use it for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.

  • Soft Diet.

    Soft or blended foods allow the jaw to rest temporarily. Do not try to open wide for larger foods. No crunchy or hard foods.

  • Over the counter Analgesics.

    Often short-term use of pain medicines or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as Ibuprofen, may provide temporary relief from jaw discomfort.

  • Jaw Exercises.

    Slow gentle jaw exercises may help to increase mobility. Gentle open wide stretch with an assisted push to stretch can help. The “N” stretch, where you open as wide as you can while trying to touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth may also help. Your health provder or a physical therapist can evaluate your specific concern and suggest appropriate exercises based on your needs.

  • Relaxation Techniques.

    Relaxation and guided imagery can be helpful in dealing with the pain and stress that accompanies TMJ dysfunctions. Deep, slow breathing enhances relaxation and modulates pain sensations.  

  • Side Sleeping. 

    Sleep on your side using a pillow support between shoulder and neck.

  • Relax Facial Muscles.

    Make a concentrated effort to relax your lips, and keep teeth apart. A Night guard can help with this, there are over the counter options and we are happy to fabricate one for you.


  • Yawning.

    Use your fist to support your chin as you yawn to prevent damage to the joint and prevent your jaw from locking open.

In addition avoid; Jaw clenching, gum chewing, and cradling the telephone (may irritate the jaw and neck muscles)
Share by: