During examination your dentist may take X-rays or make a clinical diagnosis of dental caries. One of the benefits of regular recall visits is that the dentist is able to diagnose the dental decay before the patient has felt any symptoms. This can save a tooth from potential root canal treatment or even extraction (removal of tooth)
What causes tooth decay?
The cause of tooth decay could be either poor enamel formation, high sugar in diet for some patients or lack of brushing or flossing technique. Poor enamel formation makes the tooth vulnerable to acidic attacks from sugar and other diets.
Regular check-ups with a dentist allow them to watch the area’s most at risk of tooth decay. We will inform you if you need filling and most likely show you the area to be filled in the photograph or dental Xray. We at the Dental Practice Ipswich will do our best to treat your decay with and also provide you with most up to date information on preventative measures.
How do I know if I have tooth decay:
Some signs and symptoms of tooth decay are:
Sensitivity to hot and cold food and drinks.
Sensitivity to sweet food.
Pain when you bite down on your food.
A hole that you can feel with your tongue, or see when you look in a mirror.
Black, brown, or white staining on a tooth.
What happens in the filling process?
The dentist after making the diagnosis will give you another appointment for filling or may do the filling on the same visit if he has time and if you agree with the treatment plan.
Before the filling is done the dentist will numb the area with a local anaesthetic needle. He will use a topical anaesthetic before the needle. You will feel numb after few minutes of the needle. He will use a dental drill to remove the infected tooth decay leaving behind clean and sound tooth structure.
He will clean and disinfect the tooth before filling it with the dental material.
Types of Dental filling:
There many types of dental fillings.
Composite fillings: These fillings are white coloured and are also called resin filled composites. They are placed in the cavity in layers and the each layer is cured with a blue light before the next layer is placed on top. The filling is then trimmed and polished to a better finish.
Amalgam fillings: They are the silver or grey coloured fillings and are one of the oldest fillings known. The amalgam Is made up of silver, mercury, tin, copper. The amalgam is placed in the cavity when it is soft and after few minutes it hardens up. The filling is trimmed and polished.
Porcelain fillings: This filling is also white in colour and is an indirect form of filling. The tooth is prepared with a cavity design and then an impression is taken with a digital scanner or with impression material. The porcelain filling is made outside the mouth and then cemented in the mouth with resin cement.
Gold fillings are another type which is a bit uncommon now due to its cost and poor aesthetics.
The different types of filling materials
There are several options for the actual material filling your tooth. Your dentist will recommend the best for your unique situation:
not corrode, and are quite durable. The downside to a gold filling is that it contrasts with natural tooth colour and is very expensive as it is a two-step process.