TEMPORARY TOOTH FILLINGS

There are many reasons for dentists to put in temporary fillings. Certain procedures require healing time before permanent tooth fillings winston salem can be put in. Root canals are a perfect example of these kinds of procedures. Typically a root canal needs extra time to heal after the procedure, so your dentist will put in a temporary filling. Similarly, if you are waiting on a particular kind of filling, like a gold one, or are waiting on a permanent crown you may receive one of these temporary fillings.

If you have had a temporary put in, you may be wondering about care and durability. It is perfectly normal to think that a temporary might fall out easier than a permanent one. After all, they are temporary. The good news is that if you follow some simple basic care, your filling will be fine until you see your dentist again.

Watch what you eat

As your dentist probably told you, you should avoid chewing any food on the side of your mouth that contains the filling. This way, no matter what you eat, you will run less of a risk of knocking the filling out. Because you may need to make the filling last several days or weeks, you need to be extra careful to not forget that it is in your mouth. If you do have to chew on the side of your mouth with the filling, make sure to do so gently. There are also a few types of foods to avoid during this time. You should not eat hard, crunchy food. An example of this is nuts. You should also avoid chewy food. A few examples of this are gum, taffy, or toffee. Eating these foods can cause the filling to fall out much more easily.

Take extra care when brushing and flossing

You may also be wondering about brushing and flossing. It is perfectly normal to worry about it since it would stand to reason that messing around with the tooth could cause the filling to fall out. The good news is that brushing is perfectly safe for you to do. Just make sure that you have a soft or extra-soft bristled brush. Make sure when you get to the tooth in question that you go gentle. You can still be thorough though.

Flossing can be a bit trickier, especially if the filling is not completely flush with the outside of your tooth. If you are not careful, you can snag the floss on the filling and pull it out. Therefore, you must be extra careful. In order to avoid complications, pull out as you floss instead of up. This way you won’t run the risk of snagging the filling.

If your filling falls out, don’t panic. You do however need to get to a dentist as soon as possible. If the filling is left out for too long, you can run the risk of developing an infection. Therefore, it is important to keep the area clean and see your dentist right away to have the temporary filling replaced.

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