New Patients · Fishersville
Home instructions.
Quick, practical care notes for the day after your visit. Bookmark this page or save it to your phone — if anything feels off, call us at 540-885-8037.
After Cosmetic or Reconstructive Work
Give the bite a few days.
When the position or thickness of your teeth changes, your brain takes a few days to register the new normal. Some hot and cold sensitivity is expected; warm salt-water rinses (a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, three times a day) help calm tender gums.
A standard dose of Tylenol or ibuprofen, taken as directed, handles residual soreness. If you continue to feel a high spot when you bite, give us a call so we can schedule a quick adjustment — bite tweaks are common and easy to fix.
Avoid foods that crack or stain natural teeth (ice, peanut brittle, popcorn kernels, sticky candy, red wine, dark coffee, berries) for the first week. If you grind at night and we’ve made you a guard, wear it. If you play sports, ask us about a custom mouthguard.
After a Crown or Bridge Visit
Treat the temporary kindly.
Crowns and bridges usually take two or three appointments. At the first visit we shape the tooth, take a digital scan, and seat a temporary crown to protect the prep site while your lab restoration is being made.
If your tongue, lip, or roof of mouth is numb when you leave, wait until sensation returns before you eat or drink anything hot. Please skip sticky foods (gum, caramel, taffy) and chew on the opposite side while the temporary is in place.
Brush normally, but floss carefully — pull the floss out from the side rather than snapping it up through the contact, which can dislodge the temporary. If your temporary does come off, save it and call us right away. Keeping it in place protects the fit of your final crown.
After a Tooth Extraction
Protect the clot.
A blood clot forms in the socket and starts the healing process — everything in the next 72 hours is about protecting it. Bite firmly on the gauze pad we send you home with for 30 to 45 minutes; if oozing continues, swap in fresh gauze and bite again for another half hour.
For the first three days, please don’t rinse vigorously, drink through a straw, smoke, or drink alcohol. Skip vigorous exercise for the first 24 hours. All of these things raise blood pressure or pull suction across the socket, both of which can dislodge the clot and slow healing.
Some swelling is normal. An ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a thin towel, applied 20 minutes on and 20 off, keeps it manageable. Take pain medication as prescribed; if you were given antibiotics, finish the full course even after symptoms fade.
Call us right away if you have heavy bleeding, severe pain that doesn’t respond to medication, swelling that worsens after 48 hours, or any reaction to a prescribed drug.
After a Composite (White) Filling
You can chew when the numbness wears off.
Your composite filling is fully set when you walk out of the operatory, so you can eat as soon as the anesthetic has worn off. Until then, please be careful — numb lips and tongues are very easy to bite.
Some sensitivity to hot, cold, and pressure is normal for the first few days. Standard ibuprofen or Tylenol, taken as directed, handles it. The injection site itself can be tender for a day or two.
If your bite feels uneven, the sensitivity gets worse rather than better, or you have any other concern, please give us a call.
Call Us
When in doubt, pick up the phone.
The Medical Park Drive office is reachable Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm at 540-885-8037. If you’re having a true dental emergency outside business hours, leave a message and we’ll route you appropriately. New to the practice? See what your visit looks like before you arrive.
Schedule Your Visit
We’d love to meet you.
You’re welcome here whether it’s been six months or six years since your last visit.