Cracked Filling or Tooth

After Treatment:

• Your endodontic (root canal) treatment is now complete. Taking pain medication before the numbness wears off may help maintain an acceptable comfort level. Please wait to eat or drink on the affected side until after the numbness has worn away, which usually takes about 30 minutes.
• Please do not chew or attempt to eat on the affected side while you are still numb.Do not try to feel around your tooth with your tongue as you have a temporary filling in the tooth and it takes about 30 minutes to harden.
• You may floss and brush your tooth as normal, unless told otherwise by the doctor.

Discomfort:

• Discomfort or soreness in the area is normal for a few days (or up to 10 days) and range from mild to severe. This occurs because of existing infection and inflammation of the gum and tooth ligaments as well as the manipulation of the tooth during treatment. The gums may be sore and the tooth is often tender to biting or chewing. Over the counter pain medications such as Ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, Motrin, Excedrin, and Tylenol should relieve most of the discomfort (take as directed). Rinsing with warm salt water (1 teaspoon of salt per glass of warm water) will help. Discomfort in the area in no way affects the successful outcome of treatment.
• If antibiotics and/or pain medications were prescribed, please take them as directed. If you were given a prescription for pain, it is meant to help you with more serious discomfort only for a couple of days. In the unlikely event that swelling, fever, or severe pain should occur, please call the office.

Temporary Filling:

• A temporary filling has been placed in the entry made into your tooth. It is normal for a thin layer of the temporary filling to be chewed away between appointments. An unusual taste can be expected. It is very rare for it to fall out entirely because it is very deep in the canal, but if it does fall out, please contact us as soon as possible. It’s important that your temporary filling stays intact until the placement of a permanent restoration.
• Do not use the tooth to bite down on anything hard (peanuts, pretzels, ice, etc.) until the permanent filling/crown has been placed on the tooth. Again, the tooth is prone to fracture and if you bite down on anything too hard or crunchy you may fracture the tooth.

Final Restorations:

• Endodontically treated teeth have been weakened by previous decay and fillings. You need to have a permanent filling or a crown placed on your tooth within one month of the root canal being completed. This will protect these teeth against future fracture and decay, and protect the root canal filling from possible contamination. Delay in obtaining a final restoration may result in fracture and/or possible loss of the tooth or require a retreatment or a root canal.
• If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call our office for a follow up appointment.

Future Appointments:

• Appointments will be made for you to evaluate your healing and monitor your progress following your surgical procedure(s). These appointments are important and should be kept as scheduled.