After a Filling or Crown

AFTER A FILLING OR CROWN: MORE

This page goes with the sheet we texted you. That sheet has the emergency list, how long the numbness lasts, and what to do if the lip gets chewed. Keep it. This page is everything else: what the next few weeks look like, and why.

If something is wrong right now, call us. Call us any time on (870) 741-4746; the line reaches Dr. Chad after hours. Poison Control 1-800-222-1222.

For soreness, use the pain medicine card we sent you. There are no medicine amounts on this page, on purpose. The card is the only place we print them, so there is only ever one set of numbers in your house.

HOW LONG THE NUMBNESS LASTS

The tooth stops being numb before the lip and tongue do. That is normal. Your child’s lip can stay numb for hours after the filling is finished.

For a filling or a crown, most children are numb for about 2 to 4 hours.

Removing a permanent tooth takes more numbing medicine than a filling does, and wisdom teeth take the most. For those, plan on 4 to 8 hours, sometimes longer. Your child’s extraction sheet says the same.

Bottom teeth take longer, and the numbness there covers the tongue and the lower lip on that side. That is the side to watch most closely.

These are averages. Some children stay numb longer. That by itself is not a problem. Call us if your child is still numb 12 hours after the appointment.

WHAT A CHEWED LIP LOOKS LIKE

The first aid is on your instruction sheet. Press for 10 minutes, rinse with cool water, cool and soft food, and keep watching. This part is about what you will see afterward.

It usually shows up the next day and it usually looks much worse than it is. Here is what you may see:

• The lower lip is the most common spot. The cheek and tongue happen too.
• A puffy, swollen lip on one side. It can be large enough to change your child’s face. It usually looks worst on day 2 or 3, then heals over one to two weeks.
• A white or yellow patch, sometimes with a raw red edge. It can look like a burn or a blister.
• Some bleeding, or a scab.

This is a chew wound, not an infection. Most of these heal on their own. Keep it clean, give soft cool food, and skip salty food, spicy food, and sour food like orange juice while it heals.

This is not your fault, and it is not your child’s fault. A numb lip feels strange, and children chew on it before anyone can stop them. It happens in good families who did everything we asked.

Call us if: the redness spreads out from the sore, pus comes out, your child gets a fever of 100.4°F or higher, or it is getting worse instead of better after a few days.

TODAY, TONIGHT, AND THE NEXT FEW DAYS

TODAY

• Watch the numb lip and cheek. Soft, cool food only until the numbness is gone.
• Expect some soreness where we fixed the tooth and where your child was numbed.
• If your child got a silver crown, skip sticky candy and gum today while the glue that holds it on finishes hardening.

TONIGHT

• Brush and floss as usual, gently, including around a new crown.
• Some children are sore at bedtime. Use the pain medicine card we sent you.
• The gum next to the tooth we fixed may be tender or a little red.

THE NEXT FEW DAYS

• Sensitivity to cold is normal and should get better a little at a time.
• Sweet food and drinks may give a quick zing. See below.
• Gum tenderness around a new crown usually settles in a few days.
• Once the numbness is gone, ask your child if the tooth feels tall or hits first. See the bite section below.
• Pain should be trending down. Getting worse is the thing to watch for.

AFTER A FILLING

Sensitivity is normal. The tooth may be sensitive to cold, and sore when your child bites on it. It should ease off a little more each day. Most fillings settle within a week or two.

Sweet things can zing. Candy, juice, soda, and even sweet cereal can give a quick sharp feeling on a tooth we just fixed. It stops as soon as your child rinses or swallows. This is common and it usually fades over the next week or two. Call us if the zing is getting stronger instead of weaker, or if it turns into an ache that hangs around after the sweet taste is gone.

White fillings are hard as soon as your child leaves. Your child can eat normally on them once the numbness is gone. Cold sensitivity is the usual complaint.

Silver fillings can be sensitive to both cold and hot, and that can last a bit longer, because metal carries temperature to the tooth. Silver fillings also keep hardening after the appointment. That is why we ask you to stay off hard and chewy food on that side for the rest of the first day.

Hard bits may come out. Your child may spit out a small hard piece. That is usually extra filling material or extra glue from around the edge, not the filling itself. Call us if the tooth feels sharp, feels like it has a hole, or catches your tongue.

AFTER A SILVER CROWN

The gum around it will be tender. We worked right at the gum line to seat the crown. For a few days you may see:

• Redness or puffiness of the gum right next to the crown
• Bruising
• A little bleeding when brushing or flossing there

This usually settles within a few days.

Keep flossing it. Skipping it makes the gum worse, not better. Slide the floss down gently, clean both sides, then pull it out to the side instead of snapping it straight up. Snapping up can catch the edge of the crown.

Sticky food. Skip sticky candy, taffy, and gum on the first day while the glue that holds the crown on finishes hardening. After that, sticky food is still the most likely thing to pull a crown loose, so go easy on it.

If the crown comes off:

1. Keep it. Put it in a bag or a small container.
2. Do not try to put it back on and do not glue it.
3. Call us. Bring the crown to the visit.
4. The tooth underneath may be sensitive until we see your child.

CHECKING THE BITE

While your child is numb, they cannot tell if the bite is right. This shows up after the numbness wears off. Once your child can feel normally, ask them to bite and tap the teeth together.

Signs the bite is high:

• Your child says the tooth “hits first,” feels “tall,” or feels “big”
• Your child chews only on the other side
• Your child keeps touching or pushing on that tooth
• The tooth stays sore to bite on and is not improving after 2 or 3 days

This is worth a quick visit. It is a short appointment and usually needs no numbing. A high bite can keep the tooth sore and can put extra force on the new filling or crown.

WHEN TO CALL US

Anything in the red box on your instruction sheet. Plus any of these:

• A chewed lip, cheek, or tongue that is still bleeding after 10 minutes of steady pressure.
• A chewed spot that is spreading redness, leaking pus, or getting worse after a few days.
• Pain that wakes your child up at night.
• Throbbing that starts on its own, without eating or drinking.
• Pain that is getting worse after the first few days instead of better.
• The tooth still feels tall or hits first after 2 or 3 days.
• A crown comes off.
• Swelling of the face or gum.
• Your child still hurts on day 3 of pain medicine.
• Your child is not drinking, or has not peed in about 8 hours.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Can my child go to school tomorrow? Yes, for almost every child. There is nothing about a filling or a crown that keeps a child home, and there are no limits on running or sports. Send a soft lunch if the tooth is still sore. Let the school know if your child needs pain medicine during the day, since most schools have their own rules about who may give it.

Can my child eat normally again? Once the numbness is gone, yes, with the two rules for the first day: no hard or chewy food on a silver filling, and no sticky candy or gum with a new crown.

Did I cause this? No. Cavities in children come from a mix of things nobody controls all of: the shape of the teeth, how often food and drink go by, and plain luck. Bringing your child in and getting it fixed is the part that was in your hands, and you did it.

Reviewed: August 2026