Dental Fillings
What are Dental Fillings?
A dental filling is a type of restoration that is designed to replace an area within a tooth that has a cavity. Cavities are small or large areas of decay in a tooth. Decay is often caused by plaque acids essentially “eating” away at the tooth. In order to prevent the decay from spreading or getting worse, we will remove it and place a tooth-colored filling.
Why might Dental Fillings be needed?
The reason you might need a filling is because you have a cavity. A cavity can and will get worse without adequate treatment. If you fail to treat a cavity, you may eventually need a root canal as the decay goes further into the tooth. Fillings are made of composite resin, which blends in seamlessly with the rest of your smile.
Who is a candidate for Dental Fillings?
In some cases, a cavity may cause sensitivity and pain. However, most smaller and even some larger cavities present no symptoms. Because of this, the best way to spot a cavity is with a dental examination. We may take x-rays to help in finding hard-to-spot cavities.
What happens during the Dental Filling procedure?
We begin by numbing an area of the mouth using a local anesthetic. We then remove the decay from the tooth completely. We prep the small hole for the new filling, placing composite resin into the area. Excess filling material is removed and we carefully light cure it with a special dental tool. You can expect composite resin fillings to last for about a decade before they may need to be replaced. If you need to have multiple fillings placed at the same time, we can do this only if they are within the same area of the mouth. This prevents your entire mouth from being numb at the same time, which would otherwise be a problem for you after leaving the office.
If you would like to learn more about fillings and how they’re placed, call us today to speak with one of our professional team members.
