You may be familiar with the word “dental fillings” or must have gone through the procedure yourself. Dental fillings involve scraping-out decayed bits of your tooth, replacing the missing surface with another substance to prevent the tooth from weakening. Fillings are used to treat cavities, repair teeth damaged by a fall, injury or bad habits such as tooth grinding. A dental filling is fairly common and involves a few basic steps:

• The area around the affected tooth is first frozen with a local anesthetic to reduce pain.
• The decayed bits are scraped out by a drill, air abrasion instrument or laser.
• The instrument is usually selected on the basis of the dentist’s convenience, comfort and level of expertise, as well as the state of the affected tooth.
• Filling materials come in several varieties: gold, porcelain, a composite resin that matches the colour of your teeth or an alloy metal.

Tooth Decay

One of the most common reasons behind a dental filling is tooth decay caused by cavities. If your tooth feels sensitive to hot or cold foods or hurts for deeper reasons such as infection or abscess, a dental filling is imperative to stop the decay from spreading. Your dentist cleans out the affected area, inserts the filling to mould the crevices in your teeth and coats it to prevent bacteria from invading the tooth or getting stuck in the grooves.

Enamel Loss

The enamel coats the outer surface of your teeth to protect it from damage, pain and sensitivity. But excessive brushing, abrasion from hard bristles on your toothbrush or sensitivity from hard or cold foods after decay can wear out the enamel. Once the enamel starts wearing off, your teeth are more prone to pain and discomfort from certain elements in food such as excessive heat, cold, sweet or sour flavours. Tooth decay can further aggravate enamel loss. If your teeth feel hypersensitive, you may be in for a tooth filling. Consult your dentist at once.

Tooth Injury

Children and seniors are more prone to tooth injury from a sudden fall, but it can affect anyone from any group at any time, really. A fall can break or chip your teeth. In such cases, a porcelain or composite filling helps restore the missing part of the tooth and restore its shape to prevent further damage. Cracked teeth can also be healed and sealed with a dental filling.

Refilling

Sometimes old fillings wear out, especially if the material is not so advanced. Dental filling materials were earlier limited. If a previously filled tooth starts hurting again, it is time to have it replaced with new technology.

Dental health starts with regular maintenance. If you find your tooth chipped, cracked or hurting from a cavity, the earlier you visit a dentist, the better or it will get worse in no time. Look out for sensitivity to heat and cold foods or any localized pain while chewing.

Dr. Jason Harvey & Associates

We go to every length possible to make sure our patients receive the best treatment with the least discomfort. We use the latest technology and try to keep it needle-free, pain-free and anesthesia-free as much as possible. As clinical procedures in dentistry evolve, we do too. Our dental filling procedures involve minimal pain and discomfort. We offer Solea® Laser Treatment, the most sought-after technology to make the cavity filling process easier and less painful for patients. As a result, our patients enjoy long-lasting relationships with us. Browse through our website to find out about our complete list of dental services. Call us to book an appointment.