After a deep cleaning or ARESTIN®
For anyone who has had scaling and root planing today, with or without ARESTIN placed.
Call us if…
- Pain increases after two or three days instead of easing.
- Gums swell, or an area starts to throb.
- You develop a bad taste that does not clear, or a fever.
- Sensitivity is still severe after two weeks.
The first day or two
- Wait for the numbness to wear off before eating.
- Gums are usually tender and may bleed a little when you brush. That settles within a few days.
- Warm salt water rinses two or three times a day help.
- Teeth can be sensitive to cold for a week or two as the gums tighten around them.
If ARESTIN was placed
- Do not floss the treated teeth for 10 days. Floss everywhere else as normal.
- Avoid crunchy, hard or sticky food in that area for a week.
- Keep brushing gently across the treated area — brushing is fine, it is flossing that pulls the medication out.
- Tell us if you notice tenderness or swelling that is getting worse rather than better.
Keeping it clean
- Brush twice a day, angling the bristles into the gumline rather than straight at the tooth.
- Clean between every tooth once a day, with floss or the small brushes we showed you.
- Keep your follow-up appointment. Re-measuring is how we know whether it worked.