Postoperative Care Instructions
After your child undergoes a dental procedure, there are things you can do at home to make sure they heal correctly and don’t undo everything we just did at the office. We’ll go over all of these tips when you come to see us, but if your child (or you) need a little reminder, we’ve included them here for your convenience. If you have any questions about what to do, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Oral Care After Local Anesthetic
Local anesthesia to the jaw will most likely cause the tongue, teeth, lips, and surrounding tissues to go to sleep or feel numb. When you take your child home after a procedure requiring local anesthesia, please keep the following in mind:
- Keep a close eye on your child for at least two hours after treatment.
- Remind your child that their face is numb and that they should avoid chewing, scratching, or sucking on the area as this could cause irritation or abrasions.
- Limit your child to liquids and soft foods until the numbness has subsided.
- Ensure your child doesn't bite, suck, or rub their lips together while they feel numb. Watch him or her closely until any anesthesia wears off.
- Prohibit your child from rinsing his or her mouth for several hours.
- Keep your child from drinking anything with carbonation or using a straw the entire day of the surgery.
- Warn your child not to put their fingers or tongue in the empty socket.
- While blood-tinged saliva is normal after an extraction, extended periods of active bleed is not. If your child experiences sustained bleeding following an extraction, place gauze firmly over the socket and have your child bite down for ten minutes. You can also use a wet tea bag. If this bleeding persists, call our office or proceed to the nearest Emergency Room.
- Ease your child's pain using Tylenol or any form of Motrin as directed.
Care for Dental Sealants
- Prohibit your child from eating ice.
- Say no to sticky, chewy, and sugary foods like caramel, taffy, and tough fruit chews like Starburst or roll-ups.
- Encourage your child to maintain excellent daily oral hygiene.
Care for Space Maintainers
- Keep your child away from sticky, chewy, hard, or crunchy foods such as gum, caramels, Milk Duds, licorice, gummy bears, jelly beans, beef jerky, nuts, popcorn, ice, hard candies, jaw breakers, and corn on the cob.
- Tell your child to avoid pulling on or poking the wire(s).
- If your child's space maintainer comes loose or breaks, call our office so we can evaluate and decide whether the appliance needs to be reinforced or rebuilt.