Caring For Your New Restorations

You should be able to floss your new restorations in a normal manner. Use a soft tooth brush with a toothpaste, preferrably one with fluoride, regardless of the type of restoration. Regarding your choice of toothpaste:

• There have been several published studies on the best toothpaste to use on teeth with composite resins, but no study has given us a definitive word.
• Even though there are several toothpastes that advertise they are specifically designed for bonded teeth, there is no real proof that any toothpaste, if used properly, will harm bonding.

We recommend not cleaning your teeth more than three times a day. Brushing should be done in moderation.

Mouthrinses:
Over-the-counter rinses do not provide a significant health benefit, but are acceptable to freshen your breath. Most contain alcohol and may create a dry mouth concern.

Eating:
You should be able to enjoy whatever quality of life you choose, without interference from your teeth. This means that your new restorations should not limit your enjoyment of eating a wide variety of food without worrying about consequences of your teeth. However, this does not mean that you should ignore certain “common sense” suggestions for safe eating:

• Scraping meat off a bone when eating spareribs, or biting into raw carrots may not be particularly prudent if your front teeth have been restored.
• Heavily pigmented food such as berries have a propensity to stain teeth. Avoidance or eating these types of food in moderation may prevent restorations from losing their brilliance.

Drinking:
As mentioned above with mouthwashes, alcohol has the ability to hasten the demise of bonded restorations. In addition:

• Dark drinks like red wine are probably more offensive to esthetic restorations than lighter-in-color drinks.  Coffee and tea are notorious stain-producers. 
• Carbonated soft drinks and colas can be laden with sugar and acids and may contribute to recurrent caries.
• Ice in any kind of drinks should not be chewed.

Habits:

• Chewing non-food items like fingernails, pencils, etc., can damage or dislodge restorations.
• Trying to open various types of containers, envelopes, etc. with teeth can also lead to loss of restorations.

Smoking:
There is no doubt that smoking is highly deleterious to both teeth and restorations. Even though smoking’s role in shortening the life of a restoration is unclear, it certainly contributes to a significant amount of stain accumulation.

Sensitivity:
Sensitivity to hot/cold is common following permanent cementation. It will usually decrease after two weeks. If sensitivity persists, please notify our office.