You've been told by the dentist that you have a cavity or more. Now what?
You want to save your teeth, restore it back to good health. So what are your options? Options includes FILLING for shallow and small to medium sized cavity, CROWN or cap for larger sized cavity. If you cavity is too deep or into the nerve, then you will need ROOT CANAL TREATMENT or EXTRACTION.
There are certain steps to restorative fillings but it's simple and painless to restore a tooth back to health.
Types of fillings:
Composite Resin (White Fillings)
Composite are the most popular choice for fillings. It's cosmetically more appealing and pleasing for patients. This type of fillings bond to the tooth and it creates great strength to keep the filling in place without any fracture.
Amalgam (Silver Fillings)
Research has shown amalgam fillings has caused tooth fracture. Over time, many silver fillings develop small cracks. Common cause would be stress (grinding), temperature change (eating something cold then hot vice versa). These cracks allow bacteria to steep into the tooth and causing the tooth to decay.
With or without Local Anesthesia
At our dental clinic in Worcester, MA we give you the choice of getting numb or not getting numb. We use Waterlase I-Plus to take care of a cavity. In most cases you will need to get a needle to restore the cavity on the tooth. In some cases we will make you numb with local anaesthetic, and you will remain awake.
What happens if you don't get rid of the cavity?
In early tooth decay, you usually don't have symptoms. As tooth caries get worse, it can cause:
An infection, which can lead to an abscess. The abscess can cause pain, facial swelling, and fever. Tooth sensitivity to hot, cold and even sweet foods. If you don't treat a cavity, the decay will penerate your dentin and then keep going deeper to the root of the tooth.
