Guidlines for Post-Treatment Care
Root Canal Therapy Postoperative Instructions
- Don’t eat or chew for 1 hour following treatment or until the numbness wears off.
- Make an appointment with your dentist for restorative treatment as soon as possible.
- No hard or sticky foods until permanent filling/ crown is placed.
- Soreness in the area is normal, especially to biting down or chewing in the area worked on. We advise avoiding chewing in that area until the permanent restoration is completed to reduce the risk of fracture.
- If you have swelling that appears after treatment, please call our office. DO NOT ice the area, it can make you more swollen and cause more pain.
- We advise taking these medications if you can safely take them, please ask any questions if you are on other medications that may interfere with the following:
- 600mg of Motrin every 6 hours as needed.
- 500mg of Tylenol every 6 hours as needed.
- You may take them together every 6 hours as needed.
Surgical Postoperative Instructions
- Avoid anything that has small seeds, acidic, or hard foods for the first few days.
- DO NOT pull on your lip/cheek to look at the area, you may risk pulling out a suture.
- For the first 24 hours, you will need to ice the area 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off. After the first 24 hours switch to a warm compress.
- Expect swelling, bruising, and oozing in the area. If at any time you feel that your swelling or bleeding is excessive or increasing, please call our office.
- The night of your surgery sleep with your head elevated, this will help reduce chance of swelling.
- You will return to this office 5-7 days after the surgery to remove the sutures.