WHAT PATIENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
TREATMENT RESTORATIONS (TEMPORARIES)

Temporary restorations are more precisely named “treatment restorations”. These may also be referred to as provisional restorations, temporary caps and/or temporary crowns. These interim restorations act as a bandage to allow for proper healing of oral tissues. They also stabilize the bite and reduce tooth sensitivity during treatment. Because of their soft characteristics, treat them with extra care. Avoid chewing gum, sticky foods and biting on hard foods.

It is just as important to brush and floss your treatment restoration as it is with final restorations. However, when remooving floss, it should be pulled out toward the side from the side so the restoration is not dislodged. Our staff can demonstrate this technique for you.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOUR TREATMENT RESTORATION:

• COMES LOOSE?
If your treatment restoration should come loose, and you feel uncomfortable placing it back onto the tooth, place it in an envelope and bring it in to our office as soon as possible. Please call first so that we can be ready to fit it back in your mouth. If you feel comfortable, any Vaseline type products can be used to line the inside of the temporary. This will form a suction, keeping the temporary in place until you are able to come into our office. Do not attempt to clean out existing cement because if not cleaned out correctly, the temporary will not be able to fit in correctly.

• SEEMS HIGH?
If your treatment restoration seems high or touches first when you bite, please call our office for an appointment, and we will adjust it for you. Some patients will bite differently when anesthetized than when not. It is not uncommon to need an additional adjustment on a treatment restoration after the anesthesia has warn off.

• CAUSES DISCOMFORT?
Should you experience discomfort immediately after placement, take Ibuprofen 400mg - 600mg, Extra Strength Tylenol or aspirin every four (4) hours with a full glass of water. Discomfort is not uncommon for a short time after treatment restorations are placed. If this does not alleviate the pain or the discomfort persists longer than a few days, please contact our office.

• SEEMS TOO BIG?
This is normal. Because of the soft nature of the temporary dental materials used to make treatment restorations, it may be necessary to compensate by making them slightly bulky for strength. This size will not be duplicated in your final restoration.

• SEEMS ROUGH?
This is common, since the dental materials used to make treatment restorations are difficult to shape, polish, and fit in the mouth. The top part of your temporary will be carved to fit with the opposing teeth. As a result you may become aware of the surface irregularities created. Small amounts of roughness and porosity will not be present in the laboratory fabricated final restoration.

WHAT ABOUT A MULTIPLE CROWN TREATMENT RESTORATION?
In multiple restorations it is often better to splint them together as a single unit. This provides better stability during treatment. These often require more adjustment of the bite because of their complexity. One disadvantage of these is that you will not be able to floss these without using special floss threaders. These will be provided for you along with instructions as to using them. It is important that you do floss while wearing the temporary restoration.

Many times large treatment restorations may cause a feeling of being locked in when you close. This is common in custom temporaries (used as treatment restorations) because they are made to fit the opposing teeth. We try to interject some freedom for comfort. If you find the bite uncomfortable, please call for an appointment and we will adjust it for you.

THE COLOR OF TREATMENT RESTORATIONS.
The treatment restorations may not match your other teeth perfectly since materials used for temporary restorations come in limited colors. We do our best to match your teeth as closely as possible with the materials available to us.

The time you will have to wear your treatment restoration depends on the difficulty of your case: usually 3 to 4 weeks are needed for small cases and more time for larger cases. Some treatment restorations may be in the mouth as long as two years.

We want to make your treatment as comfortable as possible.
If you have any other questions, please call our office at (781) 237-7400.
We are here to help.