1. It is recommended that your child wait for 20 to 30 minutes prior to eating or drinking after a dental cleaning or prophylaxis. This allows the tooth surfaces to fully absorb the fluoride delivered in the cleaning process.
2. With Fluoride varnishes, your child can eat and drink right away. The setting time for these materials is very short. However, please do not brush the teeth for six hours.

1. Although your child’s mouth is not numb, we still recommend waiting for any dental materials we use to fully set. The composite or tooth-colored fillings harden by exposing them to a dental light as they are placed. However, it’s best to give the material a chance to “rest” for 30 minutes to one hour before your child chews.
2. Drinking of liquids right away is fine if they are not extremely cold or hot (this can cause severe temperature changes within the filling)
3. Brush and floss your child’s teeth normally when you get home.
4. It is advisable to help your child avoid sticky and chewy candies like Fruit Roll Ups and caramels to protect placed sealants (protective materials applied to the deep grooves of molars) and composite or tooth-colored fillings.

1. Dental anesthetics numb not only your child’s tooth but the surrounding gums, tongue and lips as well.
2. Usually, treatment in the lower jaw causes a more severe numbness. Due to the way the anesthetic is administered, a wider area can be affected. This may include the tongue. Anesthesia of the upper teeth is more local but can include the cheeks and upper lip.
3. Please watch your child carefully for at least two hours. Do not allow them to eat for the duration of that time. Some children do not understand the effects of local anesthesia and may chew, scratch or suck the numb area. This can cause serious damage to the tissues which will be very painful once the anesthetic wears off.
4. You can place a piece of folded gauze in your child’s mouth to bite on. This will help keep their mouth injury free.
5. There may be mild soreness associated with the treatment. You may give children’s Tylenol or Motrin according to the package directions if necessary. Please contact our office if sever pain persists.

1. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes this technique as a safe and effective technique to reduce anxiety, produce analgesia and enhance effective communication with a child during dental procedures.
2. Nitrous oxide is quickly exhaled from your child’s lungs soon after it is stopped. Pure oxygen is given at the end of the treatment to aid in this matter.
3. Although we don’t allow the kids to sit up until they have had ample amounts of oxygen, it’s important to watch your child as you leave the treatment room. They may be a little dizzy for a couple of minutes.
4. If your child was given a local anesthetic during the course of treatment, please do not allow eating for the first two hours after treatment since the lips and mouth are still numb. Be careful that your child does not chew, suck or bite cheeks and lips.
5. There may be mild soreness associated with the treatment. You may give children’s Tylenol or Motrin according to the package directions if necessary. Please contact our office if severe pain persists.
6. Praise your child to reinforce a positive memory of the dental visit.

1. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes moderate sedation as a procedure used to calm anxious patients during dental treatment. It is used together with nitrous oxide/oxygen to further help your child have a positive dental experience.
2. Although the effects of nitrous oxide are readily reversed, the oral sedative’s effects last longer. Your child may be sleepy or groggy after the treatment session. Please allow for an observed nap. A side position is recommended and you might want to place a towel under your child’s head in the case of drooling.
3. If your child is awake, they may be fussy. This is normal after a longer treatment session.
4. If your child was given a local anesthetic during the course of treatment, please do not allow eating for the first two hours after treatment since the lips and mouth are still numb. Be careful that your child does not chew, suck or bite cheeks and lips.
5. Encourage your child to drink plenty of clear liquids and maintain a soft diet for the day of treatment.
6. Children’s Tylenol may be given for any soreness or discomfort following the dental treatment (please follow dosage guidelines carefully). Please contact our office if severe pain persists.
7. Continue with normal oral hygiene but please be gentle around extraction sites and crown margins the day of placement.
8. Praise your child to reinforce a positive memory of the dental visit!

1. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry supports the use of deep sedation or general anesthesia in pediatric dentistry when appropriately selected and administered by a trained anesthesiologist who carefully monitors your child throughout the session.
2. After deep sedation, your child may be sleepy and want to nap. Close observation is necessary. You may awaken your child periodically until fully awake. A side position is recommended and you might want to place a towel under your child’s head in the case of drooling.
3. Children who have undergone deep sedation should remain indoors and refrain from activities for 24 hours.
4. Numbness due to the use of local anesthetics takes about two hours to wear off. Although your child may be sleepy during this time, please be careful that no chewing, sucking or biting of cheeks and lips occurs.
5. If your child becomes nauseous or throws up, allow him/her to rest and sip clear liquids. The feeling should stop on its own.
6. Please maintain a soft diet for two days.
7. Children’s Tylenol may be given for any soreness or discomfort following the dental treatment (please follow dosage guidelines carefully). Please contact our office if severe pain persists.
8. Continue with normal oral hygiene but please be gentle around extraction sites and crown margins the day of placement.
9. Praise your child to reinforce a positive memory of the dental visit.

1. Bleeding from extraction sites is normal at the time of treatment. If your child does not suffer from a bleeding disorder, a clot will form in the extraction site in about 10 minutes.
2. Due to saliva, minor oozing from the extraction site may seem like a lot of blood. Children also tend to continue to spit because of the uncomfortable taste of blood so it may appear like the area is still bleeding. If you are concerned, please have your child bite firmly on a folded piece of clean gauze for about 15 minutes, this should stop any oozing of blood from the site. If bleeding continues, keep your child biting on the gauze for 30 minutes. Gushing blood that does not stop or bleeding that continues for several hours, should be reported to our office.
3. Please make sure that there are no irritants to the extraction site. Drinking from a straw, eating hard foods or your child’s fingers in the area can act as irritants. The formed clot may be dislodged and bleeding can occur again. If this happens, have your child bite firmly on a folded piece of gauze. Doing so should stop the problem promptly.
4. You may give children’s Tylenol or Motrin for pain. Please follow the dosage instructions on the package carefully.
5. Help your child maintain a soft diet for two days. This can include: mashed potatoes, soup, noodles, puddings and bananas. Carbonated drinks and straws (that can irritate the extraction site) should be avoided the day of treatment.
6. Avoid brushing the extraction site for a couple days. The rest of the mouth should be cleansed well to avoid bacterial buildup.

Following the procedure, the baby may be fussy and may not nurse much at first. Breastfeeding will have to be retrained so that may be difficult at first. Some swelling and/or a fever may occur during the first 24 hours but then should go down. Children’s Tylenol can be administered to help with this. Some aloe vera gel will be dispensed and should be placed on the wound area 2-4 times a day. Keeping the lip and tongue mobile is important during the healing time. When nursing, make sure to flange the upper lip up and over the breast to stretch the area and lift the tongue with a tongue depressor or your fingers to keep the tongue mobile. Doing this at least two times a day is sufficient. A way to help retrain the nursing can be to use a bottle nipple, which is more rigid than the breast. Pushing the bottle deeper in the baby’s mouth and flanging the lips over will force the tongue forward and create a proper sucking habit. A white patch around the lasered area is normal and this is the clotting material in the mouth. Keep the area stretched and mobile until all the white is replaced by pink tissue.

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