How Soon Can I Eat & Drink after a Dental Filling?

Have you heard you should not chew over a restored tooth for 24 hours after getting a dental filling? The reality is entirely different because the dentist restoring your tooth will provide specific instructions on when or what you can eat after getting a dental filler in a damaged tooth.

Some types of dental fillings may impact your waiting time before eating foods. We will share some recommended tips for eating and drinking after getting a dental filling.

Types of Filling Materials Affecting the Waiting Time

Your wait time for eating or drinking differs depending on the filling you get in the tooth.

• Silver Amalgam Fillings: Amalgam fillings require 24 hours to harden and reach maximum strength. In such cases, dental offices recommend waiting a day before eating foods from the side of the mouth where the damaged tooth is located.
• Composite Tooth-Colored Fillings: Tooth-colored fillings harden instantly after the dentist sets the material with ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light and the filling material hardening instantly enable you to have food after dental filling soon after leaving the dentist’s office. However, your dentist may recommend waiting for a couple of hours before chewing on the filled tooth if you are numb.

Factors That Affect Eating After Getting a Filling

Besides waiting for the filling material to set correctly, other factors can also affect eating after restoring your tooth. They are:

• Local Anesthesia: You will likely receive local anesthesia near the affected tooth during the filling procedure. The anesthesia helps ensure you feel no discomfort when the dentist works in your mouth. After receiving a dental filling in Gilbert, the dentist recommends not eating for one to three hours to ensure you don’t bite your tongue or cheeks until the numbing medication wears off.
• Post-Operative Discomfort: after getting your tooth filled, it is routine to have discomfort that may affect your food appetite. You receive a recommendation from your dentist to take a painkiller to alleviate the pain.
• Gum Tissue Discomfort: Irritation in the gum tissue around the affected tooth is routine during the procedure. It can result in soreness to affect your comfort level when chewing near the affected tooth for a few days. You can rinse your mouth with warm salt water to help with the irritation.
• Heightened Sensitivity: Your tooth may be sensitive to hot and cold temperatures for a few days or weeks. In such cases, the Gilbert dentist suggests not having scalding or chilled beverages and foods. However, if the sensitivity does not subside, you can discuss the issue with the dentist.
• Different Bite: occasionally, your bite may seem different after getting a dental filling near me. You may feel your teeth are not coming together as they should. If you cannot adjust to the changes in a few days because your bite feels uneven, contact the dentist for help because they can adjust the filling to make your teeth fit correctly again.

Tips for Eating after Dental Fillings

Many experience varying levels of tenderness after receiving a dental filling. Mentioned below are some practical tips to follow to minimize discomfort.

• Biting and Chewing Carefully: Your jaw exerts pressure when grinding, resulting in pain when you bite down hard on some foods. Therefore you must consider not biting all the way through the food and chewing carefully on the opposite side of the affected tooth.
• Avoiding Complex Foods: hard foods like candy, nuts, ice, and other foods are painful because they pressure the teeth. Chewing on hard foods can dislodge new amalgam fillings if you try to eat such foods before the filler hardens.
• Sticky Foods: fillings can dislodge if you have sticky foods soon after restoring your tooth. Although such occurrences are rare with tooth-colored fillings, amalgam fillers can get affected by sticky foods.
• Avoiding Sugary Foods: sugary foods and beverages trigger sensitivity and promote bacterial growth around your new filling, making them better to avoid.
• Scalding and Cold Foods and Beverages: If you avoid scalding and cold foods and beverages preferring moderate temperatures, your chances of triggering sensitivity lessen considerably.
• Closed Mouth Chewing: If you experience sensitivity to heat and cold, the cold air will aggravate your situation. In such cases, consider chewing foods with your mouth closed to prevent cold air from getting into your mouth.

After getting dental fillings you do not have two starve but the filler you received in your tooth determines when you can start eating. Silver amalgam fillings make you wait longer than tooth-colored composite resin. After you receive dental fillers, the dentist provides the following:

• Advice on how long to wait to eat.
• The time to wait before using the treated tooth for chewing.
• The foods and beverages you can eat or must avoid temporarily to enable the filler to set and minimize sensitivity.

The dental filling procedure is routine, and Smiles of Gilbert provides them to many patients, including children advising them on when or what they can eat after restoring a tooth. If you need dental fillings with advice on continuing with everyday activities, kindly contact them for restorations.