Filling fell out, advice!

onwards&upwards

A large filling fell out of one of my molars today.  No pain, and I have an appointment to get it sorted on Friday. 

Any tips for limiting the damage between now and then while it’s exposed?  It’s a heavily filled tooth (misspent youth, oops but nothing I can change now) and I don’t want it to deteriorate more if I can help it.  I will drink only water, eat sugar free food on the other side of my mouth, and I have just bought some chlorhexidine mouthwash (not sure if I should use it before/after brushing or leave a gap?)  I also have sugar free chewing gum for maybe when out and about but no idea if that would actually help.

Anything else I can do?

Toothsmith

Friday's not far away. Just keep it as clean as you can until then. 

onwards&upwards

Thanks, is there a right order/time to do mouthwash and toothpaste?

Toothsmith

There is never any need for a mouthwash unless specifically recommended by your dentist for a specific problem.
It's a triumph of marketing above clinical effectiveness! 

onwards&upwards

Toothsmith said:

There is never any need for a mouthwash unless specifically recommended by your dentist for a specific problem.
It's a triumph of marketing above clinical effectiveness! 

I don’t use it regularly but thought it might be useful for stopping tiny bits of food getting stuck in the cavity, I still have to eat!  Is there no point then?  I do see tiny little food particles when I use it after meals. 

Toothsmith

You would see the same if you just used water. 

Just keep it as clean as you can with a toothbrush & toothpaste. Don't over-think it. 

The 4 or 5 days between it happening and seeing the dentist on Fri are not going to make a significant difference to the health of the tooth. 

onwards&upwards

Toothsmith said:

You would see the same if you just used water. 

Just keep it as clean as you can with a toothbrush & toothpaste. Don't over-think it. 

The 4 or 5 days between it happening and seeing the dentist on Fri are not going to make a significant difference to the health of the tooth. 

Thanks, I appreciate that.  Annoyingly I was at the dentist in Jan and even had x rays done, shame it couldn’t have come out in time for that if it had to!