dentist examining female patient with tools

How Tooth Colored Fillings Make Your Teeth Strong And Healthy Again

Table of Contents
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    Many people's minds immediately go to the silver amalgams that have been standard for decades when they hear the term "tooth filling."

    Despite their continued usefulness, tooth-colored fillings are quickly replacing silver amalgam.

    When Should You Get a Dental Filling?

    Numerous fillings are performed annually by dentists to fix teeth which have been damaged by cavities. Thus, filling tooth is a popular dental practise. But, if a dentist places a subpar dental filling, it can cause a variety of complications and additional discomfort for the patient.

    Poor dental care and a diet high in sugary and sugar-sweetened beverages are common causes of tooth decay. Dental fillings are commonly used to treat cavities because they seal the cavity off completely, preventing any more decay from occuring.

    Composite, amalgam, and ionomer are all materials that can be used to make fillings. Several details about these restorations may be foreign to you. The the following are the top ten things about dental fillings that you may not know but should.

    Need a Filling?

    That's not to say you necessarily recognise it if you do. Biting down on a decayed tooth can be excruciatingly painful for some people, and decayed teeth might be hypersensitive to hot and cold meals and sweets.

    Luckily, cavities can be detected by both visual inspection and X-rays by your family dentist. Regardless of the method used to diagnose the problem, your family dentistry will use composite resin to replace the area left by the decayed parts of your tooth.

    Importance of a Tooth-Colored Filling to Your Dental Health

    Cavities can be filled with tooth-colored fillings. Composite resin is used in its construction because it may be coloured to match your teeth. However, many patients are unaware of the significant role fillings can play in maintaining good oral health. They're useful for avoiding subsequent issues like dental decay and tooth loss.

    What is the function of composite resin?

    This modern composite of glass & acrylic is used to make the vast majority of tooth-colored fillings. Inlays and onlays, which are slightly larger than fillings, can also be fabricated from dental porcelain. When treating tooth decay, a general dentist will remove the affected area of enamel. To restore a tooth using composite resin, however, the dentist needs to remove less good enamel whereas if he were to use amalgam.

    Composite resin, miraculously, attaches directly to teeth, effectively becoming an integral part of the tooth. The composite is then applied to the tooth in thin layers and cured between each using a curing laser. The resulting repair is of the highest possible quality thanks to this method. Furthermore, the dentist checks that the finished filler bites correctly with the tooth in the opposing arch.

    Damage to teeth from cavities can be alleviated with dental fillings

    Tooth sensitivity is a typical complaint dentists hear from patients who have cavities. This because cavities weaken your enamel and reveal your dentin underneath. Because of the close proximity of your dentin to the nerve endings in your teeth, extremes of temperature can cause excruciating pain when you develop a cavity.

    Protecting your dentin with a tooth-colored filling from your dentist's office can make consuming and drinking your favourite foods and drinks again.

    Can I have tooth-colored fillings that won't discolour my teeth?

    With proper home and professional care, tooth-colored fillings can survive for seven to 10 years or more, according to most studies. And since composite resin mimics the properties and sensitivity of natural tooth enamel so well, it reduces the risk of damage to the patient's remaining tooth structure. It can bend and flex to accommodate the physical pressures exerted during biting, chewing, and clenching.

    Although the FDA has deemed traditional amalgam fillings to be benign, most dentists and patients prefer composite resin fillings due to its aesthetics and adaptability. They are virtually undetectable and can be inserted anywhere in the mouth.

    Stop tooth decay and dental issues from getting worse

    Cavities begin as little holes in the enamel of your teeth, but they can worsen and spread until the affected areas become painfully exposed. Cavities can often progress through the dentin and into the pulp.

    In most cases, a root canal or extraction is necessary to treat pulp infections, which cause excruciating pain and swelling. Tooth extractions are a rapid approach to deal with an infected tooth, but they might cause other teeth to shift out of place.

    Protect and Enhance Your Teeth

    Having trouble with even routine activities like chewing because of broken, chipped, or damaged teeth. They weaken your teeth, which increases the risk of further injury. If your tooth has been damaged on the surface, your dentist can restore its strength, durability, and function with a tooth-colored filling.

    Implants in Your Body Can Help You -Esteem

    Because cavities can be seen when you smile, they might have a negative impact on your confidence. Cavity-dwelling bacteria are a major contributor to foul breath odours. Weight loss is another possible side effect of having cavities, as that the pain and sensitivities can make eating unpleasant.

    A Tooth-Colored Filling: What to Expect

    woman patient dentist

    During a root canal, your dentist numbs the region around your tooth to remove decay and restores your tooth to its normal function. He performs this to ensure that the decayed portion of your tooth is removed and the filling remains in place. Once the cavity is clean, the dentist will fill it. The entire process only takes one visit, and you'll be back to normal in no time.

    A cavity shouldn't detract from your happiness.

    Are the Teeth Neighboring the Filling at Risk?

    Your family dentist cares about his patients' teeth and gums for the long haul. Visiting the dentist twice a year for cleanings and exams can help reduce your risk of developing cavities, gum disease, and other oral health issues. Although you may primarily associate your oral health with your mouth and gums, new studies have revealed some surprising links between the mouths and the rest of our bodies.

    Poor dental health has been linked to an increased risk of numerous serious diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and cancer.

    Besides these serious problems, dental decay can also have an effect on our general health. Cavities are common because people don't adequately care for their teeth by brushing twice a day and flossing once. Although filling a cavity is a simple procedure, new research reveals that the neighbors on each side of the treated tooth may be at a higher risk of decay.

    Scientists looked over 750 teeth with healthy inside but decayed outer layers. All of the teeth in the sample were in close proximity to others that had recently had cavities filled.

    After more than five years, researchers found that 34% of the adjacent tooth surface had decayed enamel and 27% had decayed dentine.

    Despite having a filling, 57 percent of teeth still had decay with in enamel on the adjacent surfaces, and 43 percent had decay that had progressed into the core of the tooth.

    Patients had fillings who neglected their oral hygiene appeared to be at a higher risk for this condition.

    Researchers concluded that dental care significantly impacted the progression of tooth deterioration. Because of this risk, dentists must take precautions to protect the health of adjacent teeth whenever a filling is being placed. Dental practitioners, according to study findings, should additionally evaluate the health of adjacent teeth during each subsequent appointment.

    Taking Care of Your Smile

    Dental fillings, implants, and root canals may be necessary to salvage decayed teeth. If you follow these guidelines, you can prevent the need for such extreme measures:

    • Start by using fluoride toothpaste and brushing your teeth twice daily.
    • It's important to floss every day.
    • After brushing, finish by rinsing with a mouthwash that doesn't include alcohol.
    • Sugar-free gum is great for post-meal digestion.
    • Reduce your sugar intake and increase your intake of fresh fruit and veg.
    • Visit your family dentist regularly for checkups and cleanings.

    You can protect your teeth from decay and boost your smile's health with just a few little changes to your everyday routine.

    Despite having a filling, my tooth continues to hurt, what gives?

    The standard dental treatment for a cavity is a filling. A filling is a safe and effective procedure, but it may cause some discomfort or sensitivity to the teeth in the treated area.

    This sensitivity is common and usually subsides within a few weeks or months.

    Extreme pain or discomfort, especially if accompanied by additional symptoms like fever, redness, or swelling, warrants an immediate call to the dentist.

    1. When I get a filling, what can I expect?

    A filling is just a dental operation in which decay is removed from a tooth and the resulting cavity is filled with a synthetic material. The dentist will typically use a dental drill to remove decaying tooth structure after administering a numbing drug through injection around the tooth. Gold, silver amalgamation, a composite, or china will then be used to fill the void.

    The face may feel numb, tingling, itchy, or puffy for a while after a filling is placed. They may have trouble chewing, swallowing, communicating, and even moving their face as a result. In order to prevent unintentional tongue or cheek biting, dentists may advise their patients to abstain from food and drink for a short period of time.

    These sensations will cease to exist once the anaesthetic wears off. However, when the body adjusts to the novel filling over the next few days and weeks, the patient may experience some novel symptoms.

    Among the most prevalent side effects at this time is heightened sensitivity there in filled tooth or surrounding area.

    2. Please describe the sensation of sensitivity that follows a filling

    A brief, uncomfortable sensation with in filled tooth or outlying areas is common when a person has a hypersensitive tooth. It could seem like a sudden jolt of cold or discomfort that doesn't last long.

    Tooth sensitivity following a filling may be brought on by a number of different things.

    • acidic beverages, such as fruit, juice, et coffee biting down when eating cold foods or drinks, like frozen yogurt, popsicles, or glasses with ice sugary foods, like candy, air hitting the tooth, like when breathing through mouth, that may be worse because of cold air

    Why Do Fillings Make Teeth Feel Uncomfortable?

    Sensitivity after getting a filling is common and should go away in a few days. However, there are additional factors that should be treated or repaired if you experience sensitivity following a filling. Below, we'll go through some of the potential causes of this ailment and when you might want to visit the dentist.

    1. A nerve that has been pinched

    Tooth soreness after a filling is common because the treatment irritates or inflames the nerve on the inside of the tooth for a short period of time.

    Enamel and cementum, the tooth's outer layers, normally shield the nerve from harm. However, fillings, especially large ones, might press on nerve endings and provoke unpleasant feelings in the mouth.

    Sensitivity will subside as the nerve mends. The time frame for this is unclear. Once the nerve have completely recovered, the filled tooth should feel the same as any other tooth.

    2. Misalignment of the teeth

    A dentist's job is to make sure the filling looks natural and fits in with the rest of the teeth. Biting down on a filling that is too high might be uncomfortable. Sensitivity and pain after a filling are typically exacerbated by this.

    Minor discomfort when biting down is common in the days following the operation. The bite, however, usually heals on its own after a few weeks.

    Nonetheless, if a person has extreme sensitivity, trouble chewing, or difficulty fitting their teeth together, you should have their dentist examine their bite. For the filling to meet the bite and the patient's comfort, the dentist may file down the filling's peak.

    3. Pulpitis

    Illness of the pulp tissue within a tooth is called pulpitis. Pain and sensitivity in the teeth may result.

    beautiful girl sitting dentist s office (1)

    Minor fillings rarely cause pulpitis, but it is possible if:

    • the lesion was very deep, affecting the interior pulp layer the tooth has received numerous fillings or operations because of its fragility

    Pulpititus can take one of two forms:

    • With reversible pulpitis, the pulp is still healthy and the tooth can recover on its own after a period of mild inflammation.
    • A root canal is necessary to save a tooth with irreversible pulpitis, which occurs when the nerve inside the tooth has been injured and is beginning to die.

    A root canal or new filling from your dentist should take care of your pulpitis. Antibiotic treatment is another option for curing a bacterial illness.

    How To Treat A Sensitive Tooth

    The use of desensitising toothpaste may be suggested by a dentist for patients who feel the typical sensitivity that occurs after receiving a filling. Potassium nitrate, a component in such remedies, blocks the transmission of pain signals from the tooth's surface to the nerve endings underneath. You won't feel an immediate difference, but after using the toothbrush twice a day, you should start to see improvement.

    The following home remedies may also be tried by anyone suffering from tooth sensitivity:

    • Medications available without a prescription to alleviate pain, such as aspirin or ibuprofen.
    • A local anaesthetic for the mouth.
    • A special toothbrush designed for those with sensitive teeth. These are gentler on tooth enamel and more comfortable to use than regular toothbrushes.
    • Use soft circular motions when brushing your teeth and gums. When brushing your teeth, don't scrub back or forward or force the brush on your teeth.
    • Daily flossing should be done carefully to avoid damaging the teeth and gums.
    • Remember what you tried that made you sick, and try to stay away from that.
    • Sensitivity might be worsened by using whitening toothpaste and other items.
    • When you've had acidic drinks or food like coffee or fruit, it's a good idea to rinse your mouth out with water. The tooth enamel can erode from acidic foods and drinks.
    • It's best to wait at least an hour before brushing your teeth after consuming acidic foods to prevent further erosion of the enamel.

    If your tooth sensitivity doesn't subside after a few days, you should schedule an appointment with your dentist. The filling may not be the only source of the sensitivity, therefore the dentist needs to rule out any others.

    Conclusion

    Cavities can be treated with dental fillings since they completely fill and seal the cavity. The importance of fillings to oral health is sometimes overlooked by individuals. Poor dental hygiene and a diet rich in sugary foods and drinks are major contributors to tooth decay. Sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures is a common complaint of people who visit dentists because of cavities. When you have a cavity, your enamel breaks down and the underlying dentin becomes more visible.

    A tooth-colored filling can last seven to ten years or more in most cases. They can be placed anywhere in the mouth and are nearly unnoticeable. Reduce your chance of getting tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral health problems by seeing the dentist twice a year for cleanings and exams. Cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and cancer are just some of the many deadly conditions that have been related to poor oral health. Save deteriorated teeth using dental fillings, implants, and root canals.

    A healthy smile and strong teeth can be yours with just a few simple lifestyle adjustments. To fill a cavity in a tooth after decay has been removed is the dental procedure known as a filling. The causes of heightened tooth sensitivity after a filling can vary. Particularly sizable fillings have the potential to apply pressure to nearby nerve endings, leading to a painful sensation somewhere in the oral cavity. The discomfort of biting down on a filling that is too high is another possible side effect of an oversized restoration.

    Pulpitis is an infection of the pulp tissue of a tooth. Reversible pulpitis occurs when the pulp is still healthy and the tooth can recover on its own after a period of mild inflammation. When the pulp, or nerve, of a tooth is wounded and begins to die, the damage is irreversible. An ultra-gentle toothbrush for persons with hypersensitive teeth. An oral local anaesthetic.

    Careful daily flossing is essential to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Make an appointment with your dentist if the sensitivity in your teeth persists beyond a few days.

    Content Summary

    • Although the Food and Drug Administration has found traditional amalgam fillings to be safe, most dentists and patients prefer composite resin fillings due to its cosmetic and versatile nature.
    • Reduce your chance of getting tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral health problems by seeing the dentist twice a year for cleanings and exams.
    • Cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and cancer are just some of the many deadly conditions that have been related to poor oral health.
    • Despite the ease with which cavities can be filled, recent studies have shown that the teeth to either side of the one being worked on are at increased risk for developing cavities.
    • Since this is a possibility, it is important that dentists take extra care to safeguard the teeth around the area being filled.
    • Sensitivity in the filled tooth or the area around it is currently one of the most common adverse effects.
    • Please explain the sensitivity you feel after getting a filling.
    • When someone has a hypersensitive tooth, it usually causes a fleeting, unpleasant feeling in the filled tooth or the surrounding areas.
    • Your dentist can treat pulpitis by performing a root canal or replacing the old filling.
    • Anyone experiencing tooth sensitivity may also try the following home treatments:
    • OTC pain relievers, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, are readily available to relieve discomfort.
    • An ultra-gentle toothbrush for persons with hypersensitive teeth.
    • Acidic beverages and foods can wear away dental enamel.
    • Make an appointment with your dentist if the sensitivity in your teeth persists beyond a few days.

    FAQs About White Filling

    Modern white fillings are much stronger than those from several years ago. They are also bonded to the tooth to effectively seal the margin. Amalgam fillings just plug the hole and do not seal the margins or reinforce teeth. They are, however, very strong and a well-placed amalgam filling can last for several years.

    White fillings are appealing especially because they are the same colour as the teeth and therefor basically unnoticeable. Since they attach right to the tooth, patients with a broken tooth can receive a white filling to restore the tooth's shape, which may not be an option with silver fillings.

    There is no huge difference in the time it takes to place either filling although the white fillings may take just a few minutes longer to place. Whilst white fillings used to be the more expensive option, these days both white and silver fillings tend to cost around the same price.

    White fillings don't last as long as silver fillings, and on average sustain for about 7-10 years. Nonetheless, they're still an incredibly strong, successful treatment for most cavities.

    The composite is strong, and while it doesn't have as much crushing strength as amalgam, it has enough to easily withstand biting pressures. But because it bonds to the tooth the whole tooth is stronger and much more resistant to breaking than your tooth would be with the silver amalgam filling.

    Scroll to Top