Dental procedures and surgery

Treatments for pain

Before your child's dental procedures, your dentist may use medicines to help your child stay calm and relaxed and to prevent pain. These may include a numbing medicine brushed on the gums and a shot of numbing medicine in the mouth. Your child may also have nitrous oxide gas or medicines to treat anxiety. Some children get medicine to make them sleep (general anesthesia).

Cleaning

Your child's dentist or a dental hygienist uses a scraping tool to remove plaque and tartar from your child's teeth. The dentist or hygienist will also use floss to clean between the teeth. Paste may be used to remove stains.

Sealant

The dentist or hygienist starts by placing a cotton roll around the teeth to keep the teeth dry. Liquid is applied that will glue the sealant to the teeth. After about a minute, the dentist or hygienist will rinse off the excess glue, dry the teeth, and put on the sealant.

Scaling and root planing

The dentist or hygienist uses a scraping tool or a small vibrating tool to remove plaque, tartar, and infection from between the gums and teeth. This focuses on the parts of the teeth below the gumline and down the roots. A planing tool is used to smooth the roots. This helps the gums attach tightly to the roots.

Fillings

First the dentist numbs the tooth. A dental drill is used to remove all the tooth decay. Then the dentist uses filling material to replace the area that was removed.

Extractions

To remove a tooth, the dentist numbs the tooth and the area around it. Then the dentist uses a special tool to grasp the tooth and lift it out of the tooth socket. Your child is then given a piece of gauze or cotton to bite down on. This will help stop the bleeding. Your child may also get stitches.

Your child's dental care may include several procedures. They all help protect your child's dental health and overall well-being.

Cleaning.

This removes plaque and tartar (hard mineral buildup) from the teeth above the gumline. It helps prevent tooth decay and cavities.

Sealant.

This is a strong liquid-plastic material. It's put on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. It helps protect teeth from tooth decay and cavities.

Scaling and root planing.

This removes plaque and tartar from between the gums and the teeth below the gumline. It helps prevent or treat gum disease.

Fillings.

These fill cavities created in the tooth by tooth decay. They prevent cavities from getting worse. They also help protect the tooth from infection. They are usually made of a tooth-colored resin or a mix of metals.

Extraction.

This removes an entire tooth. The dentist takes out the part of the tooth you can see and the tooth roots that are in the jawbone. It's done when no other treatment can work for a badly infected or broken tooth. It's also used to make enough room in the mouth so that other teeth can come in straight.

Activity

• Allow the area to heal. Don't let your child move quickly or lift anything heavy until your child is feeling better.
• Have your child rest when your child feels tired.
• Your dentist may give you specific instructions on when your child can do normal activities again, such as playing sports and going back to school.

Diet

• Give your child soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or a thin soup. Gradually add solid foods as your child heals. Your child can eat solid foods again in about a week.
• If your child had a tooth pulled, don't let your child use a straw for the first few days. Sucking on a straw can loosen the blood clot that forms at the surgery site. If this happens, it can delay healing.

Medicines

• Your doctor will tell you if and when your child can restart any medicines. Your doctor will also give you instructions about taking any new medicines.
• Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label.
  • If the dentist gave you a prescription medicine for pain, give it to your child as prescribed.
  • If your child is not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your dentist if your child can take an over-the-counter medicine.
• If your dentist prescribed antibiotics, give them to your child as directed. Do not stop giving them just because your child feels better. Your child needs to take the full course of antibiotics.

Mouth care

• While your child's mouth is numb, give your child liquids or soft foods that don't need to be chewed. This can help prevent biting the tongue or the inside of the cheek or lip.
• If your child had a tooth pulled, have your child bite gently on a gauze pad now and then. Change the pad as it becomes soaked with blood. Call your dentist if your child still has bleeding 24 hours after the surgery.
• If your child had stitches in their gums, your dentist will tell you if and when your child needs to come back to have the stitches removed.
• Starting 24 hours after a tooth was pulled, gently rinse your child's mouth with warm salt water several times a day to reduce swelling and relieve pain.
• Have your child continue to brush their teeth and tongue carefully. Your child can floss when your dentist says it's okay.

Ice

• If needed, put ice or a cold pack on your child's cheek for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Try to do this every 1 to 2 hours for the next 3 days (when your child is awake) or until the swelling goes down. Put a thin cloth between the ice and the skin.

Tell your dentist if you:

• Have had an organ transplant. The antirejection medicines may increase your risk of mouth infections. So it's very important to keep your gums and teeth clean and healthy.
• Have certain heart problems. Dental work could cause an infection in your heart. Ask your doctor if you need to take antibiotics if you:
  • Have had a heart valve replaced or repaired.
  • Have had endocarditis.
  • Have had heart defects since birth.
  • Have had heart valve problems after a heart transplant.
• Have had your hip, knee, or shoulder replaced. Your doctor may want you to take special precautions if you are at high risk for infection.
• Take aspirin or some other blood thinner. These medicines prevent blood clots. The medicine may cause you to bleed more than usual.