Practicing good oral hygiene is ideal for the maintenance of the wellness of your teeth. However, sometimes despite all your efforts, you still develop tooth cavities due to your eating habits. The tooth cavities can increase your teeth sensitivity which usually limits you from enjoying your favorite meals. Also, if left untreated, you may risk losing the affected teeth, which would interfere with your smile. Therefore it is good to undergo dental fillings Richmond early enough to prevent tooth decay from worsening. Let us go through the following tips to care for your teeth after dental filling.
Refrain From the Hard Meals
After the filling procedure, you may experience difficulties while eating. This instance occurs because of soreness in your gum around the filled teeth, which is a normal scenario. Therefore, you should avoid consuming hard and sticky meals to safeguard you from increased discomfort. Substitute hard meals such as caramels with soft yet healthy meals such as eggs.
Rinse Your Mouth
One common effect of the dental filling procedure is the bad breath which usually feels uncomfortable. Therefore, cleaning your mouth with salt water after the procedure is a good idea. Cleansing your mouth will also help to remove the food particles left behind after eating, which would otherwise impair the comfort of the newly filled teeth.
Use the Anti-Inflammatory Medication
After the filling procedure, the discomfort and soreness lasted a few hours. However, if you have persistent tenderness in your gums, you should take anti-inflammatory medications from the drug stores to prevent further swelling. Talk with your specialists before taking these medications to know the correct dosage.
Brush and Floss Your Teeth
Some people are reluctant to brush their teeth after the procedure, thinking they will remove the fillings. Notably, the fillings dry faster, unlike other treatments in your teeth. Hence brushing your teeth in the evening after the procedure will not harm your newly filled teeth. Use the soft toothbrush to remove the debris from your teeth gently. Flossing your newly filled teeth sideways is also crucial in maintaining tooth wellness.
Avoid Eating Instantly After the Procedure
During the filling procedure, the specialists may apply local anesthesia to reduce pain while putting fillings in your decayed tooth. The numbness on your tongue and gums may not disappear immediately after the procedure and may interfere with your sense when eating. For instance, you may eat extremely hot items to burn your lips. Therefore, you should always wait until the numbness diminishes for you to start eating.
Avoid Teeth Grinding
Frequent crunching on your teeth can damage the fillings in your teeth. Therefore you should reduce this habit to avoid cracking and increase the sensitivity of your filled teeth. You can request your dentist to offer you a mouth guard if you suffer from bruxism.
Are you among the millions of people living with tooth cavities? The small holes in your teeth can cause detrimental effects, thus undermining your dental health. Therefore, it is good to seek immediate intervention if you notice tooth cavities. At his practice, Juan M. Carrillo, DMD, offers an array of fillings to patients with tooth cavities and decay to restore their dental wellness. Click the online booking tool or call their Richmond, VA office to get started today.
