Pediatric Dentistry Procedures Aftercare: Tooth Fillings

Welcome back! We wanted to continue our series on common pediatric dentistry procedures, explaining more useful details about how our patients and any reader can deal with dental fillings.

Our previous article explained some of the basics of how dental fillings give your teeth new life. We gathered some useful information on the different materials used for dental fillings and how a pediatric dentist like Dr. Nanna Ariaban would go about filling your child’s to restore your kid’s teeth’ functionality.

Do you remember the various types of fillings you can get with a pediatric dentist’s help? You could follow the link above to read the article, but we also include a quick summary in this article. You can choose between the following options for your kid’s restorative dentistry treatments:

• Amalgam (Silver) Fillings
• Porcelain
• Composite Resins
• Cast Gold

So what we would like to do now is to focus on how our patients might feel after getting their teeth filled and how you can help our children take care of those dental fillings so they last as much as they are supposed to.

How You Will Feel Right After These Pediatric Dentistry Procedures

First things first, keep in mind that your child’s pediatric dentist in Alpharetta will need to numb the area before beginning the work, so your kid should hold on to eating anything after the procedure for at least 1 to 3 hours to avoid any accidental tongue-biting.

Your child might also feel some discomfort following the treatment. If there are any feelings of pain, you could help ease the sensation with over-the-counter painkillers. Consult with the dentist about what medication to use according to your child’s medical history.

You could try using Ibuprofen to help manage your child’s pain. You should also help your child understand where the feeling of pain originates. Quite often, the pain comes from the teeth next to the one tooth needing a filling. Your kid should notice this pain fading away within one or two weeks.

Your kid could also mention they feel their bite is different. This sensation is entirely normal. After getting their teeth filled, patients will sense their teeth don’t match up exactly as they used to. Keep asking your child how they feel whenever they bite a couple of days after the initial procedure. If your child is still feeling odd after several days, you should consult with their Johns Creek pediatric dentist about adjusting the fillings to correct the discomforting sensation.

Aftercare for These Pediatric Dentistry Procedures

Pediatric dentists focus on two things. First, they hope to promote good dental hygiene and health; second, they create safe environments to make younger patients comfortable during dental treatments.

To this end, we want to remind parents that caring for their children’s dental fillings requires paying additional attention to their dental hygiene. We quickly listed the various materials used to fill teeth. All those materials have different characteristics. Still, ensuring their efficiency and how much they last will depend entirely on providing your child’s teeth with the appropriate care.

Essentially, you should teach your kids to treat their dental fillings as extensions of their teeth. Caring for them depends on the same steps you would take to prevent tooth decay. Remind and help your kid to brush their teeth after their meals, at least twice a day. Show your child how to floss their teeth so they can do it daily.

Keeping up with routine dental checkups with your child’s pediatric dentist in Roswell will let the professionals check on your kid’s dental fillings status and make sure they are in top condition.

Avoid This if Your Child Has Dental Fillings

Let’s start with a simple one. Remind your child to avoid grinding their teeth. Some patients continuously grind their teeth. We call this condition bruxism. Doing so will wear down the surfaces of your teeth and might chip or crack any fillings. If this is an ongoing challenge with your kid, you should ask about getting a mouthguard for them.

Help your kids gently brushing the teeth with dental fillings. You don’t want your kid unnecessarily wearing off their fillings just because they decided to brush their teeth with a little too much excitement.

Likewise, supervise your kid’s flossing if they have fillings extending to the sides of their teeth. Teach your child to remove the dental floss from in-between their teeth by sliding it out one side instead of pulling up or down as they usually would. All this is to prevent them from accidentally ripping off part of the filling.

Careful With What Your Kid Eats

You should also pay attention to your kid’s diet after they’ve had some of their teeth filled. You should limit beverages that stain like black tea and colas. Tell your child they should rinse their mouths with water when they drink those beverages. Try avoiding overly acidic and sugary drinks as well.

What your kid may or may not eat the first two weeks after getting their dental fillings depends on the type of material used for the filling. Fillings that immediately harden when cured with blue light have fewer restrictions than metal fillings. Your kid might have to wait up to 24 hours after getting metal fillings to eat solid food again.

As a general rule, your kid should avoid sticky or chewy foods. Avoid giving them hot or cold foods to prevent tooth sensitivity; finally, tell your kid to avoid biting down on hard objects such as ice, fingernails, and more.

Get the Help You Need

Contact our office if you need help with your child’s dental filling. As durable as they are, dental fillings eventually need replacements, and you can trust our team to be right here when you need them at any stage of the treatment.

Call ahead or set your appointment by clicking here. Hope to see you soon!