Disclaimer! This information is not intended for, and should not be construed as, dental diagnosis and/or advice. Every symptom is unique to each individual’s dental condition and can only be properly diagnosed and treated by a dentist during an in-office examination.
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Temporary Crowns – Instructions and Care:
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When flossing, pull thread through - Do not snap up
No Sticky foods – gum, Tootsie Rolls, caramels, or taffy
Avoid hard, crunchy foods such as nuts, popcorn, hard pretzels, Chewy, doughy foods like bagels and cookies can also pull off your temporary crown
Do not continue taking Advil after three days
Teeth with temporary crowns may be sensitive to cold
MOST IMPORTANTLY – the temporary must stay on!! This protects the tooth from sensitivity and maintains the space for the permanent crown. If your temporary comes off, please call our office as soon as possible to get it back on. |
Instructions After Extractions
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Place cold towels or an ice bag to your face for the first 3-4 hours. Leave it on 5 minutes then off for 10 minutes.
Do not rinse mouth until the following day.
On the morning following surgery, rinse mouth with warm salt water (1/2 teaspoon salt to a glass of warm water). Repeat this several times daily. Apply heat to the outside of the face.
Keep fingers and tongue away from socket.
Following dental surgery it is normal to experience some discomfort. If medication has been prescribed, take as directed.
BLEEDING – it is normal for the saliva to be slightly streaked with blood for about 1-2 days. If abnormal bleeding occurs, place a piece of moist gauze over extraction site and bite down for 30-45 minutes. If gauze is not available, you can use a moist tea bag. SWELLING & STIFFNESS – it is normal after teeth have been extracted and should not cause alarm.
DIET – a liquid or soft diet is advisable during the first 24 hours. Drink lots of fluids.
NO SMOKING!
Do not drink through straws for the first 24 hours.
Your symptoms (swelling, stiffness, light bleeding) should be subsiding more each day. If any symptoms increase, please call the office to schedule an appointment.
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My teeth didn’t hurt before I had composite fillings. Why do they hurt now?
| We would like to think that placing a filling is like patching concrete – add a little mortar and you’re good to go. Unlike concrete, teeth are living tissue. Once decay has set in we have to remove the decay and place the best restorative materials at our disposal. In our office we only use composite fillings. These types of fillings actually bond to the tooth surface, rather than just fill a void. We use a bonding agent with desensitizers to ease the transition from tooth to fillings. Even still, sensitivity to cold is not uncommon after composite fillings have been placed. If you are still experiencing pain after a few days, give us a call to schedule an appointment.
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I think I need a Root Canal – how can I be sure?
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If you are sensitive to hot foods and drinks, and are awakened in the middle of the night with throbbing pain that will not go away with medication, these may all be signs of abscess and/or other dental conditions that require immediate attention. Call our office to make an appointment with Dr. Moore for a proper examination and diagnosis.
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My gums are bleeding, should I be concerned?
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Bleeding gums are not a sign of a healthy mouth. You should see your dentist and dental hygienist on a regular basis to address this situation.
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Why doesn’t my insurance pay for my dental treatment the way they say they will?
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This is a tricky question. First, your insurance plan is a contract between you and your insurance company. Since these plans are typically offered to you by your employer as a benefit of your employment, it is your employer who negotiates the benefit levels. We are happy to bill your insurance and, if we are contracted providers on your plan, offer you the contracted rate. We will call your insurance and gather as much information as we can on procedures that we regularly perform for our patients, but, as your insurance company will tell you, they cannot guarantee benefits over the phone. Neither can we guarantee what your insurance will pay. It may seem like we are insurance experts, but really we are just observers of an insurance industry and make educated guesses on how they will handle (pay) claims. The best way to know exactly what your out-of-pocket expense will be is to let us submit a pre-treatment estimate to your insurance company. It takes about 30 days to get the authorization back, and then we can schedule your appointment.
Another aspect of this issue is the exclusions that sometimes apply to common treatments.
- There is the Least Expensive Alternative Benefit that sometimes applies to Composite fillings. In our office we only place Composite fillings and insurance companies would much rather pay for the less expensive Amalgam (or metal) fillings. What this may mean to you is paying an additional amount for the difference that may range from $20 to $50 per tooth depending on your insurance.
- Replacement Rule – this is an exclusion that applies to crowns, bridges, and dentures. Insurance companies will only pay for these types of procedures within a certain amount of time – usually 5-10 years. So, if you need to replace a crown that is less than this amount of time, the insurance will not pay at all.
- Other Treatment Exclusions – Core Build-ups for crowns, Night Guards for Bruxism, Nitrous-Oxide, Oral Cancer Screening tools, Full Mouth Debridement (or deep cleaning), Fluoride and Sealants after a certain age and/or limited to a number of times per year. These are all treatments that I regularly see excluded from coverage. We ask about them when we call about your insurance benefits, but benefits are subject to change.
The best way to find out if these or any other treatments are excluded is to call your insurance company and ask.
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