Post-Op Instructions

Caring for your provisional restoration will improve the longevity, aesthetics, and fit of your new crown or bridge.

1. Good brushing keeps the gums around your provisional(s) firm and healthy. This allows us to cement your crown onto a clean, dry tooth, thereby enhancing the watertight seal of the crown.

2. The provisional holds the tooth in the position it was in when your impression was taken. If the tooth shifts position, the new crown will require a lot of adjustments to achieve an acceptable fit. So, we do not want the provisional to come off. Avoidance of sticky and hard crunchy foods will prevent damage to your provisional. If your provisional comes off, breaks, or loosens, call us as soon as possible.

3. Most chewing gum will stick all over a provisional crown, so NO GUM. This will not be the case with your final crown.

4. Since provisionals become worn after a short time of service, undue postponement of your crown-seating appointment can allow the tooth to shift.

5. It is common to experience mild tooth sensitivity and tender gums around the tooth for a day or two following your crown preparation appointment. Usually, Ibuprofen (Advil) works well on this type of soreness. If you are having abnormal discomfort or notice anything unusual, we want to hear from you. If it is after office hours, our phone answering machine will provide you with the doctors’ cell and home phone numbers.

Thank you for being the kind of person who cares enough about their health to have this kind of involved dentistry done.

We look forward to your next visit with us.

Taking care of your gums after placement into the gums of time-release antibiotic (Arestin):

Avoid brushing the treated area for 12 hours.

1. Do not use interproximal cleaning devices (floss, proxy brushes, etc,) in the area for 10 days.

2. Avoid touching treated areas.

3. Avoid eating ‘sticky’ or ‘chewy’ foods for one week.

4. A little soreness in the treated areas for a few days is not unusual.

5. Please do not miss your next appointment so that improvement from this therapy can be evaluated.

6. Please call our office at (770) 476-9747 if you have any concerns or questions.

Your appliance was provided for several of the following reasons:

• To protect your teeth or crowns from conscious or sub-conscious clenching or grinding. These habits can cause your teeth or crowns to have excessive wear, sensitivity, fractures, looseness, or pain.

• To relieve and control facial pain, jaw joint pain, headaches, or detrimental changes in the jaw joints.

• To assess how your facial pain or headaches are related to the fit of your teeth and what you do to your teeth.

• To find out where your teeth should fit when your jaw joints and muscles are most comfortable and relaxed.

• To find out which teeth could be vulnerable to destructive biting forces when your jaws squeeze their hardest.

• To discover more of what you do with your teeth before any complex dental work is done that reconstructs your bite.

Your appliance is designed to:

• Provide solid, balanced support for your bite. This helps to provide jaw joint stability and muscle comfort and relaxation.

• Provide equal and simultaneous pressure when solidly biting on your back teeth. This provides the best stress distribution for your back teeth, with minimal joint and muscle fatigue.

• Provide smooth contacts on your front teeth when you move away from your back teeth. This provides a smooth, non-stressful guidance on your front teeth and reduces lateral stresses on your back teeth.

• Provide a healthy, non-restrictive range of motion for your jaw muscles, which improves comfort and reduces muscle fatigue and spasms.

Using your appliance:

• You will be instructed on when to wear your appliance. The most common use is nightly while sleeping, especially if the primary use is protection from the effects of grinding or clenching during sleep.

• If you are in bite appliance therapy for pain relief, you may certainly want to wear it during the daytime, too. You decide how much. The more you wear it the sooner we can get a handle on the problem.

• Only wear it if it is quite comfortable. Call us if it isn’t. Some people do not find it uncomfortable but find it may take a few to several nights to get used to sleeping with an appliance in their mouth. If you are having a hard time adapting, try wearing it for shorter periods to help with adaptation.

• Some people notice they clench more initially with the appliance, as it brings previously sub-conscious activity to the conscious mind.

• You do not need to test all the various bite positions at home that we repeatedly look for while you are in the office. Just wear the appliance, try to forget about it, and see what feelings obviously surface.

How to care for your appliance:

• When removing your appliance after a long period of wear, it is good to brush it with toothpaste, rinse it, and shake it dry.

• It is always smart to place it in a plastic case when not wearing it. The case makes it easy to find and protects it from accidents, children and pets (dogs find these to be irresistible chewy treats).

• To keep your splint really clean and fresh you may want to soak it in a denture cleanser a couple of times a month. Then to keep it free of long-term bacteria and stains, about 4 times a year you can soak it for 15 minutes in a glass of household bleach (you’ll want to do a lot of water rinsing afterward, and a quick rinse in mouth wash).

• Many patients have had their appliance for 7 to 10 years with minor changes needed. The appliance can serve you well with just minimal home care.

• Remember to bring your appliance over the years to your preventive visits so we can evaluate how you are doing with it.

What to report at your adjustment visits:

• Any irritating areas against your gums.

• Any obvious changes in how your teeth fit when biting into the appliance. You do not have to search for these differences. Let them find you if they stand out.

• Any changes in your awareness of clenching or grinding activities.

• Any changes in your comfort related to muscle tension, pain, headaches, jaw joint pain, or joint noises.

• What you are thinking and feeling about wearing the appliance and what you are learning about your teeth.