Post-Op Instructions

Wearing Your Aligners

• Aligners should be worn at least 22 hours daily and only removed to eat or drink.
• Insert your aligners by placing them over your front teeth first and working your way backward.
• It is expected to feel pressure on your teeth when the aligners are in. That means they are working!
• To remove your aligners, start on the back teeth by placing pressure on the aligner with your finger and gently easing out from back to front.
• Do not bite the aligners in place or use sharp objects to remove them..

During Treatment

• It is expected that you will experience some sensitivity, sore lips or cheeks, grinding, a lisp, and increased saliva flow during treatment while your body adjusts to your new trays.
• Please contact our office if your trays become lost, cracked, or damaged.
• Keep your last set of trays when moving to a new set so you have a backup if needed.

Aligner Care

• Be sure to brush and floss your teeth before inserting aligners.
• Be sure to clean aligners with a toothbrush and non-abrasive toothpaste before removing them and placing them back in your mouth.
• You can drink cool water while the aligners are in place, but please remove them if you are consuming anything else to avoid damage to them.

When to Contact the Doctor

• If you have profuse bleeding that continues for 3-4 hours after applying pressure.
• If you are unable to maintain a nutritious diet after 48 hours.
• If you have pain or swelling that increases after the third day.
• If you are allergic to medications, such as skin rash, hives, elevated temperature, increased or erratic heart rate, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, fainting, or blurred vision.
• If the bite feels off after 48 hours.
• If your temporary comes out, it is not an emergency, but please contact our office within 24 business hours.

What to Expect

It is normal for your teeth to be sensitive for several days after treatment. Ibuprofen (Advil) can be the most effective way to relieve discomfort.

After your appointment, you might find some extra debris from temporary cement that you may rinse out of your mouth.

Temporary crowns are meant to be temporary, allowing you to chew and protect your tooth while your new crown or bridge is made by our laboratory. It is normal to notice some “texture” on your temporary, as it is made from a rougher material and does not reflect what your new porcelain crown or bridge will feel like.

After your final crown is cemented, we offer one complimentary post-op check and bite adjustment, if needed, within the first 30 days.

General Instructions

DO NOT eat any hard or sticky foods on your temporary crown or bridge.

DO NOT floss your temporary crown or bridge.

DO NOT eat on your temporary crown or bridge for the first 24 hours.

DO rinse with warm salt water to help heal the gums.

1st Appointment

• Records appointments consisting of scans, impressions and photos for our laboratory to begin fabrication of your custom dentures

2nd Appointment

• Final impression appointment and bite alignment

3rd Appointment

• Wax teeth try in/final approval

4th Appointment

• Final delivery and adjustment

What to Expect The First 3 Months

• Dentures are like a new pair of shoes and will require some getting used to. You must adjust to chewing, speaking and talking with your new teeth in place. The more you speak and eat with them, the more comfortable they will become.
• Adjustments may be required as the teeth settle into position and “sore spots” can develop. Please keep us posted as your require adjustments. We expect to make 3-6 adjustments during the first 3 months.

If You Are Having Extractions

As the bone and gums heal after your surgery, we will resurface the underside of your dentures to fit your gums better. During the first 3 months, we expect to complete a temporary reline in our office. After the gums have healed completely, we will complete a laboratory reline to fit the healed position of your gums and bone.

Maintenance

Dentures need to be maintained and cared for like teeth. We expect to reline your dentures annually. Like tires on a car, teeth, and dentures will wear over time and require replacement. We recommend exams annually with one of our doctors to complete an oral cancer screening and evaluate the fit of your dentures.

When to Contact the Doctor

• If you have profuse bleeding that continues for 3-4 hours after applying pressure
• If you are unable to maintain a nutritious diet after 48 hours
• If you have pain or swelling that increases after the third day
• If you are allergic to medications such as skin rash, hives, elevated temperature, increased or erratic heart rate, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, fainting, or blurred vision
• If the bite feels off after 48 hours

What to Expect

It is normal for your teeth to be sensitive several days after treatment. Ibuprofen (Advil) can be the most effective way to relieve discomfort.

After your appointment, you might find some extra debris, such as filling material and bonding, that you may rinse out of your mouth.

You may also notice that the texture of the filling feels different from that of your tooth surface.

Flossing can be tight immediately after your fillings are completed. If this does not improve after the first 48 hours, please get in touch with our office.

After your fillings, we offer one complimentary post-op check and bite adjustment, if needed, within the first 30 days.

General Instructions

DO NOT eat on the area of your mouth that is numb until the numbness is gone.

DO rinse with warm salt water to help heal the gums.

When you Should Notify the Doctor

• If profuse bleeding continues after 3-4 hours of applied pressure.
• If you are unable to maintain a nutritious diet after 48 hours.
• If the pain and/or swelling increase after the third day.
• If you are allergic to medications such as a skin rash, hives, elevated temperature, increased and/or erratic heart rate, nausea/vomiting, dizziness/fainting, or blurred vision.

General Instructions

DO NOT rinse for at least 24 hours after the surgery. When you do rinse tomorrow, rinse with your lips apart, sloshing only.
DO NOT exercise or do heavy lifting for 3 to 5 days after the surgery
DO NOT smoke
DO NOT use mouthwash that contains alcohol, eat overly acidic or crunchy foods, or use mints.
DO NOT do anything that creates suction in your mouth, like drinking through a straw, playing a wind instrument, or snorkeling.
DO NOT touch, lick, or look at the surgical area. Do not pull at cheeks.
DO NOT have any facial massages for at least 3 weeks.
DO NOT wear any bite appliance or tray unless instructed to do so.
DO NOT use an electric toothbrush or floss in the surgical area after grafting procedures. Only brush with the prescribed toothbrush after being instructed by the office at your post-op appointment

What to Expect Following Surgery

Bleeding

To slow or prevent bleeding, bite with light pressure on the gauze pack over the surgical area. Pressure should be applied in 20 to 30-minute intervals and repeated until the bleeding is controlled. If bleeding persists without slowing for several hours, use a gauze soaked in strong solid solids and do the above steps until the bleeding stops. Exercising and heavy lifting will raise your blood pressure, dislodge the blood clot, and the bleeding will resume. Avoid exercising for three to five days following the surgery.

Swelling

To prevent and/or minimize swelling, apply ice packs at 10-minute intervals to the surgical area. After 72 hours, apply warm compresses to the area to relieve swelling. Swelling is a natural part of the healing process and can be expected for 3 days to several weeks, depending on the nature of the surgery.

Discomfort

Following most surgical procedures, there may be pain, depending on your threshold for pain. You will be provided with appropriate medication for discomfort. In most cases, a non-narcotic pain regimen will be given consisting of Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Ibuprofen (Advil). These two medications, taken together, will be as effective as a narcotic without any of the side effects associated with narcotics. If a narcotic has been prescribed, follow the directions carefully. If you have any further questions about these medications interacting with others you are presently taking, please call our office first, as well as your physician and/or pharmacist. Expect cold sensitivity, which can last for 6 weeks or longer.

Avoid dark foods such as coffee, tea, red wine, blueberries, curries, marinara sauce, dark sodas, or any other dark-pigmented food or drink. Anything that can stain your Tupperware will likely stain your teeth! AVOID DARK FOOD AND DRINKS FOR 24 HOURS

Be sure to use your take-home whitening pen. To optimize results, use it nightly for a minimum of two weeks and continue to use it as needed to touch up the teeth when you begin to see staining. For best results, use it for 4-6 weeks. If used as instructed, your take-home pen will provide up to 60 nightly applications. Be careful not to overfill the applicator brush! Once it’s saturated, it will be good for 3-4 uses before filling it again.

Follow the home care whitening pen instructions:

• Saturate the pen brush by twisting the base (you may need to twist up to 60 clicks before you see the gel bubble up in the middle of the bristles).
• Brush whitening gel onto the teeth and insert the in-office treatment tray into the mouth to keep the tongue off the teeth. Relax, jaw and lips.
• Leave your tray in for 20 minutes, remove and rinse tray and mouth with warm water.

Have your teeth whitened immediately following each cleaning appointment or sooner if desired. The pen will help maintain the white smile you desire between appointments. Results will vary from person to person.