Post Op Instructions

TAKING CARE OF YOUR CHILD’S SEALANTS

Sealants are a thin coating that covers the pits and fissures (deep grooves) on the top (biting surface) of teeth that can help keep out food and plaque, thus decreasing the risk of decay.
After having sealants placed, your child’s teeth may feel slick and s/he may even say that it feels like his/her teeth do not go together as they did before. This is normal and your child’s bite will naturally adjust to the changes.
Helping your child take care of his/her sealants is very important. Sealants only cover the chewing surfaces of the teeth. The areas between and along the sides of teeth cannot be covered with the sealant material, so good oral hygiene and nutrition are still important.
To protect your child’s sealants, your child should refrain from crunching ice as this can fracture the sealant. Your child should also avoid eating sticky/tacky candies such as chewing gum, caramels, fruit snacks, Starburst, gummy vitamins, etc. These candies may pull the sealant out of the tooth.

After having local anesthesia, your child will be numb for one (1) hour or longer. Please be aware that the numbness may feel funny to your child and s/he may tend to rub, suck, chew or bite his/her lip/cheek/tongue. PLEASE watch your child and do not allow him/her to do this, as it will cause injury and/or discomfort.
If your child does happen to bite himself, it may swell and you may notice a white area in the center of the affected area. The white area is an oral scab. This will heal on its own in 5-7 days. You may administer Tylenol/Motrin as needed to help with the swelling and discomfort.

Resins are very fragile. Great care must be taken to ensure that your child has a long lasting restoration.
After having resin fillings done, your child will need to refrain from biting into any hard foods like apples, corn on the cob, raw carrots, etc. To ensure that your child has a long lasting resin restoration, please be sure to cut up any hard foods for your child to eat.
To protect your child’s resin fillings, your child should refrain from crunching ice as this can fracture the filling.
Have your child avoid using his teeth as “tools”. Opening bottles, packages, etc. is dangerous and could fracture not only the filling, but more tooth structure as well.

Avoid letting your child have sticky, tacky candies such as chewing gum, caramels, Jolly ranchers, Starburst, Tootsie Rolls, Milk Duds, Airheads, fruit snacks, gummy vitamins, suckers (or hard candy of any kind), etc. The cement we use to seat your child’s crown is very strong, however, his/her crown can become loose or even come off completely when eating such foods.
Because plaque and calculus tend to gather around stainless steel crowns a bit more then uncrowded teeth, brushing is very important. Be sure to brush your child’s teeth at least twice daily and floss each night to maintain good overall oral hygiene.
When your child is ready to lose the crowned tooth, s/he will exfoliate the tooth naturally and the crown will stay attached to the tooth. This is completely normal.

Bleeding was controlled before we discharged your child. Some occasional light bleeding or “oozing” after the extraction is normal for the first 12-24 hours. We will provide you with cotton gauze, please use them as needed. If bleeding is excessive, please contact our office right away. If our office is closed, go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
You can give your child a pain reliever such as Tylenol or Motrin if your child is experiencing any discomfort. Please use as directed by manufacturer.
Do not allow your child to drink from a straw for the next 24 hours. The suction could dislodge the clot that has formed in the extraction site.
Please have your child eat a soft diet for a couple of days; nothing carbonated, sharp, crunchy or spicy, because the area may be a bit sensitive.
A clean mouth heals faster. Gentle brushing around the extraction site should be started this evening (as well as maintaining regular brushing everywhere else in the mouth).

Your child’s space maintainer may feel a little unusual at first, but after a few days, s/he will probably forget about it and not even know it is there.
It is very important to have your child brush regularly. Although most of our space maintainer designs are fairly easy to keep clean, they can act as a bit of a food trap. You and your child may need to make a little extra effort to make sure that the space maintainer stays nice and clean. Swishing with a fluoride mouth rinse can help as well.
Avoid letting your child eat sticky/tacky candies, such as chewing gum, caramels, Jolly Ranchers, Starburst, Tootsie Rolls, Milk Duds, Airheads, fruit snacks, gummy vitamins, etc.; as they can loosen the bands and get caught in the wires of the space maintainer.
Have your child avoid pushing on the space maintainer with his/her fingers or tongue because that can bend or loosen it.
Should your child’s space maintainer come loose for any reason, please contact our office as soon as possible.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office.

621 Sebastian BLVD STE C, Sebastian, FL 32958
Tel: (772) 288-6001