When Can I Eat After a Filling?
Filling a damaged or decayed tooth is a dentist’s way of restoring normal tooth function and shape. When you have a damaged tooth, your dentist may recommend a filling foryou. It involves an anaesthetic to numb the tooth, removing the decay, and filling the cavity with a material. People who undergo this procedure often ask, “When can I eat after a filling?” Actually, the answer depends on the extent of the tooth damage and the type of filling used. What’s critical is understanding how to care for a new filling.
When Can I Eat After a Filling?
There are basically two kinds of filling: white filling and silver filling. While it’s always best to follow your dentist’s instructions, you can takethe following tips as references:
Caring for a Filling
Having known the answer to "when can I eat after a filling", you must also want to know how to care for your filling. Whenever you get any kinds oftooth filling, tooth sensitivity can become a problem. The sensitivity and pain can last for a few hours or evena couple of days after the procedure. Tooth filling may also make eating or drinking uncomfortable. Luckily, there are some precautions you can take to minimize any pain and discomfort:
1. Chew Slowly and Gently
Chewing food generates an enormous amount of pressure on your teeth, and a filling can make your teeth sensitive to pressure, therefore you’d better chew slowly and gently to protect your sensitive teeth. You can also try tochew on the other side of your mouth.
2. Close Your Mouth When Chewing
Some people can experience a sudden, sharp jolt of pain when the repaired tooth is exposed to the air. Itusually will get betterover a couple of days. In the meantime, you should close your mouth when chewing to reduce the contactwith cold air.
3. Eat Non Sticky Foods
You should avoid any sticky foods after a filling, especially after silver fillings, because fillingstake time to settle down. Youmust not want to risk dislodging the new filling by chewing sticky food.
4. Avoid Hot/Cold Food and Beverages
People may notice that the tooth with anew filling is sensitive to hot and cold temperatures. The sensitivity always lasts fora few weeks. Therefore, it’s better to avoid extremely hot/cold foods and beverages during this period of time.
5.Avoid Sweets
In the first part, we only answeredthe question "when can I eat after a filling”, but didn't mentionwhat you can't eat. Here is another kind of food that you should avoid: Sweets. Sweets are loaded with fermentable carbohydrates which can easily combine with the bacteria in your mouth. Foods and beverages with high sugar contents may trigger sensitivity, and can promote the bacterial growth underneath your new filling. Therefore, you should avoid eating sweets and foods contain lots of sugar.
6.Avoid Hard Candy, Nuts, or Ice
It’s not a good idea to chew hard things such as nuts, hard candy or ice right after a filling. This is particularly important for people who get white fillings because these fillings can break easily.
7.Check for High Points
If the new filling is too high, it will have to bearlots of pressure that should be shared by all the teeth. It willnot only cause pain, but also placeyour muscles and tendons underStress, causing spasms that may lead to joint problems. If this is happening, you should call your dentist to correct the situation.
8. Use AppropriateDental Products
It is a good idea touse dental products containing fluoride. Fluoride helps rebuild weakened tooth enamel and helps to reverse early signs of Tooth Decay. Besides, it alsohelps extend the life of your fillings and protect your teeth from new cavities. However, using dental productsthat contain alcohol can decreasethe durability of fillings and stain them. Therefore, do not use dental products with alcohol content.
9. Avoid Grinding Your Teeth
Grinding your teeth is a bad habit thatshould be avoided because doing thiscan damage your fillings as well as your teeth. Biting nails, holding objects or opening bottles with your teeth are also bad habits. If you often grind at night when you sleep, you shouldask your dentist about using a mouth guard.
Filling a damaged or decayed tooth is a dentist’s way of restoring normal tooth function and shape. When you have a damaged tooth, your dentist may recommend a filling foryou. It involves an anaesthetic to numb the tooth, removing the decay, and filling the cavity with a material. People who undergo this procedure often ask, “When can I eat after a filling?” Actually, the answer depends on the extent of the tooth damage and the type of filling used. What’s critical is understanding how to care for a new filling.
When Can I Eat After a Filling?
There are basically two kinds of filling: white filling and silver filling. While it’s always best to follow your dentist’s instructions, you can takethe following tips as references:
- If you received anesthesia: The anesthesia normally begins to wear off in approximately 1 - 3 hours, and it is important that you take care not to chew on the side that is still numb. This will avoid any damage to your lips or tongue.
- If you had a white filling:The white fillingis also known as composite filling, and it will be immediately hardened by your dentist using a dental curing light (blue light). Therefore, people who get a composite filling don’t have to wait to eat if you do not feel numb any more.
- If you had a silver filling:The silver fillingis also known as amalgam filling, and it may take 24 hours to get stable. It isadvised to avoid hard or chewy food for 24 hours after having a silver filling placed.
Caring for a Filling
Having known the answer to "when can I eat after a filling", you must also want to know how to care for your filling. Whenever you get any kinds oftooth filling, tooth sensitivity can become a problem. The sensitivity and pain can last for a few hours or evena couple of days after the procedure. Tooth filling may also make eating or drinking uncomfortable. Luckily, there are some precautions you can take to minimize any pain and discomfort:
1. Chew Slowly and Gently
Chewing food generates an enormous amount of pressure on your teeth, and a filling can make your teeth sensitive to pressure, therefore you’d better chew slowly and gently to protect your sensitive teeth. You can also try tochew on the other side of your mouth.
2. Close Your Mouth When Chewing
Some people can experience a sudden, sharp jolt of pain when the repaired tooth is exposed to the air. Itusually will get betterover a couple of days. In the meantime, you should close your mouth when chewing to reduce the contactwith cold air.
3. Eat Non Sticky Foods
You should avoid any sticky foods after a filling, especially after silver fillings, because fillingstake time to settle down. Youmust not want to risk dislodging the new filling by chewing sticky food.
4. Avoid Hot/Cold Food and Beverages
People may notice that the tooth with anew filling is sensitive to hot and cold temperatures. The sensitivity always lasts fora few weeks. Therefore, it’s better to avoid extremely hot/cold foods and beverages during this period of time.
5.Avoid Sweets
In the first part, we only answeredthe question "when can I eat after a filling”, but didn't mentionwhat you can't eat. Here is another kind of food that you should avoid: Sweets. Sweets are loaded with fermentable carbohydrates which can easily combine with the bacteria in your mouth. Foods and beverages with high sugar contents may trigger sensitivity, and can promote the bacterial growth underneath your new filling. Therefore, you should avoid eating sweets and foods contain lots of sugar.
6.Avoid Hard Candy, Nuts, or Ice
It’s not a good idea to chew hard things such as nuts, hard candy or ice right after a filling. This is particularly important for people who get white fillings because these fillings can break easily.
7.Check for High Points
If the new filling is too high, it will have to bearlots of pressure that should be shared by all the teeth. It willnot only cause pain, but also placeyour muscles and tendons underStress, causing spasms that may lead to joint problems. If this is happening, you should call your dentist to correct the situation.
8. Use AppropriateDental Products
It is a good idea touse dental products containing fluoride. Fluoride helps rebuild weakened tooth enamel and helps to reverse early signs of Tooth Decay. Besides, it alsohelps extend the life of your fillings and protect your teeth from new cavities. However, using dental productsthat contain alcohol can decreasethe durability of fillings and stain them. Therefore, do not use dental products with alcohol content.
9. Avoid Grinding Your Teeth
Grinding your teeth is a bad habit thatshould be avoided because doing thiscan damage your fillings as well as your teeth. Biting nails, holding objects or opening bottles with your teeth are also bad habits. If you often grind at night when you sleep, you shouldask your dentist about using a mouth guard.
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