Pain: For most dental treatments, no pain medication is necessary. However, due to the invasive nature of some required procedures, your child may experience or discomfort. Should this occur, we recommend giving your child Children’s Tylenol or Children’s Motrin.
Anesthesia: If your child was given local anesthesia for today’s appointment, please monitor them carefully. Ensure that your child is not biting, pinching, or chewing his or her lip. If the lower jaw was numbed for today’s appointment, the tongue will also be numb. It is recommended that you restrict your child from eating or drinking anything very hot until the medication has worn off to avoid injury.
Vomiting: Occasionally, patients will have nausea after laughing gas. Sips of ginger ale, 7-Up, or clear broth will settle the stomach.
Swelling: Your child may have swelling in or around their mouth (lips and cheeks). The swelling is the result of gently stretching the lips and cheeks for an extended period during the completion of today’s procedure. To reduce swelling, you can give your child Children’s Motrin or a popsicle to suck on.
Diet: If your child had extractions at today’s visit, soft foods are encouraged until your child feels comfortable tolerating harder substances. If your child had stainless steel crowns placed today, please avoid sticky substances such as fruit snacks, gums, etc. as they can pull the crowns off.
Dental Treatment
Extractions: Do not allow your child to rinse or spit out forcefully for the first 24 hours. Avoid the use of straws until the extraction site heals. Gently clean the surrounding teeth with a soft bristle toothbrush to encourage proper healing. Be careful not to brush into the extraction area. If bleeding develops, place gauze pads over the area. Have the child bite down on the gauze for 30 minutes. Slight oozing from the extraction site can be expected. If oozing persists beyond two days or bleeding is unable to be managed, please call our office immediately at (704) 456-9166.
Fillings: Teeth may be sensitive to cold foods or drinks. This should gradually subside in a few weeks or more.
Crowns: After crown placement, the gum tissue around the crown may be sore or bleed slightly. It is very important to keep the area clean with proper brushing. Children’s Tylenol will also help with any discomfort. Crowns are “glued” on the teeth. However sticky foods like caramel, taffy, or gum can pull the crowns off.
For any problems that may arise, please call (704) 456-9166. Dr. Amanda would be happy to address those needs as quickly and efficiently as possible for you and your child.
