Why Mustn’t You Leave Cavities Untreated?

When your dentist detects a cavity or cavities in your teeth, the optimal way to restore your tooth is to get dental fillings. Dental fillings are essential to protect the affected tooth from further decay. When you leave tooth decay untreated, your tooth worsens as the cavity progresses. Tooth decay results in bone loss and tooth extraction eventually.

If you are concerned about the dental filling procedure, don’t worry because dentists and advances in anesthesia have made the process painless. Therefore there is no reason to excuse yourself from the dentist near me when you are informed that you have tooth decay and a dental filling is necessary to stop its progress.

Can You Reverse Early Decay?

Sometimes early tooth decay is reversible. Tooth decay starts to progress due to excessive acids in your mouth releasing toxins on the tooth enamel. The resultant effect of the toxins is a breakdown of the enamel eventually.

If you want to reverse early decay, you must incorporate changes in your diet and practice excellent oral hygiene habits. The two patterns help strengthen your enamel by re-mineralizing it with minerals. If you begin experiencing pain, it is apparent that you have a cavity. However, if the dentist observes early signs of decay without pain, you don’t require a dental filling because the tooth can repair itself.

Some dentists recommend waiting for six months before treating tooth decay. The dentists think over-treating the tooth does more harm than any good because they must consider the pros and cons of dental filling material. Furthermore, after your tooth is filled, the chances of fillings cracking or breaking exist. In such cases, your tooth may need root canal treatment or extraction to prevent it from causing additional harm to your surrounding teeth whitening in pleasant hill.

New technologies currently used by dentists are leading to fewer fillings. You can reverse early signs of tooth decay using fluoride treatments and following your dentist’s recommendation to practice good oral hygiene habits.

Why Don’t Most Dentists Recommend the Waiting Period?

The dentist and Pleasant Hill doesn’t recommend waiting for six months but suggests getting dental fillings immediately because many patients don’t return after the waiting period for another checkup. The detection methods used for identifying cavities are not 100 percent accurate. It is why dentists recommend regular dental exams every six months to identify issues in your mouth.

What to Expect When Getting Dental Fillings?

Currently, you have various choices for getting dental fillings than earlier. The materials used in dental fillings are unlike earlier when you only had gold or silver fillings. Now your choice depends on the cost, function, and aesthetic appearance you want.

If you decide to have dental fillings from the best dental clinic Center in Pleasant Hill, you are offered different varieties of filling materials that are not just durable but are also sturdy. The dentist in Pleasant Hill, CA, recommends gold fillings for your back molars if you can afford the costs. Alternatively, they also provide silver amalgam fillings routinely as they are more affordable and equally durable.

You may think silver amalgam fillings are not appropriate for your teeth because they contain mercury, a neurotoxin. However, silver amalgam fillings are approved by the FDA and are in use for over a century with little or no adverse effects. You can confidently have silver amalgam fillings if your dentist recommends them because the dental professional is the optimal individual to recommend filling material.

You can choose composite resin fillings if you want the material to match the color of your surrounding teeth. However, you must remember composite resin is not as durable as gold or silver amalgam and needs replacements every five to seven years.

Another variety of filling material now available is glass ionomer used on low-stress areas. It is an ideal solution for short-term options.

Do You Need Anesthesia When Getting Cavities Filled?

Although promoted as painless, the filling procedure does cause some discomfort when the dentist begins drilling the affected tooth. The dentist is not a heartless individual and provides local anesthesia to ease the pain you feel. However, if you are incredibly anxious about the dental filling procedure, you can request more potent anesthesia, which the dentist provides.

Dentists use special drills and instruments for cleaning tooth decay and disinfecting the cavity. As the damage in your tooth is permanent, the dentist makes every effort to ensure they fill and seal the tooth efficiently, leaving you with a restored tooth with full functionality so long as you maintain excellent dental hygiene and visit dentists frequently for cleanings and exams.