At your dental checkup, one of the things the dentist will look for is decay in your teeth. If any is found, the dentist will recommend coming back in for another visit to have the decay removed and a filling put in place. If you are preparing for this appointment and have never had a filling before, here are three things you should know.
You may have a choice with the filling material
A filling is simply material placed in a hole in your tooth where the dentist removed decay, and your dentist might give you the option of choosing the type of material you would like for the filling. All the materials dentists use are good and effective, but some people prefer silver fillings while others prefer tooth-colored fillings. A tooth-colored filling is generally made of a plastic-like material called composite bonding, while a silver filling is called an amalgam filling and is made of metals.
Not getting the filling is not a wise decision
If your dentist is recommending a filling, it is because there is either decay in the tooth or signs of decay beginning to form in the tooth. If you do not follow through with this recommendation, you may end up with a larger cavity on your tooth, and you might even end up losing the tooth if you wait too long to treat it. No matter how small the decay is, you should get it removed and filled when your dentist sees the problem.
Make sure the filling feels normal when complete
Finally, your dentist will take steps after putting in the filling to make sure that it feels good and normal to you. This may include placing dental paper between your upper and lower teeth and asking you to rub your teeth back and forth. The purpose is to ensure that the dentist shaves and polishes the filling down far enough to avoid leaving you with a high filling. A high filling simply means that the filling is too big, and having a filling like this can lead to problems with your other teeth. If you discover days or weeks later that the filling seems too big, contact your dentist to schedule an appointment to have it checked.
Fillings are very common in dentistry, and they are the best option around for saving and protecting teeth. If you have questions, call a family dentist today.
Share25 July 2019
When the bottled water craze began, I jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else who was drinking water from bottles instead of from the tap. I wasn't sure why bottled water was healthier, but I liked the taste. When I went for my next dental check-up, I had my first cavity in a while, so I had it filled and didn't think much of it. Well, I had two more during my next check-up after that, and I began trying to think of why my teeth were suddenly going bad. The only change in my habits was the switch to bottled water, so I made the switch back to tap water and my teeth began to improve. I created this blog to encourage others who have begun getting cavities suddenly to look into their changes in habits. They may find they made a change similar to mine.