You know what a filling is: a treatment for cavities. Fillings used to use a silver amalgam, but now we use a tooth-colored composite that blends in with the tooth enamel. Chances are, you probably have one or two fillings yourself, but here’s some information you may not know about fillings and tooth decay.
Why You Might Need a Filling
Cavities are the most common dental disease in adults and children. Most of the time, we can prevent cavities with proper oral hygiene. That’s why every dentist you’ll ever meet will tell you to brush and floss every day and get regular checkups.
Tooth decay can creep in even if you take great care of your teeth. When that happens, the best thing you can do to preserve your oral health and your beautiful smile is get treatment as early as possible.
Why You Should NEVER Wait to Get a Filling
The smaller the cavity, the smaller the filling, and the less time you’ll spend in the dentist’s chair. That should be reason enough to get treatment right away. But here’s the thing with tiny cavities… they don’t usually cause any discomfort because they’re just starting out and haven’t reached the sensitive part of the tooth. Sometimes, because there is no pain, patients believe that a small cavity is not an urgent matter. We would argue the opposite, and here’s why:
- Anything that compromises your tooth enamel, even a little bit, invites harmful bacteria into your tooth, which could easily lead to painful, dangerous, and costly infection.
- Tooth decay does not stop spreading. It will not spontaneously heal or disappear. On the contrary, tooth decay always gets worse. What starts as a tiny hole will eventually take over the entire tooth if left untreated long enough.
Fillings Are Your Friends
Movies and television have not been kind to dentists. They like to depict even minor treatments as terrible. The truth is that getting a filling is not painful. Pain will happen if you don’t take care of a cavity right away and allow it to reach the sensitive tissues inside the tooth.
Fillings are effective, natural looking, and durable. They protect your teeth from further damage and eliminate the possibility of infection.
No Need to Be Scared: We are “comfort experts” at Centreville Family Dentistry in Centreville, MI. We do everything we can to eliminate pain and make sure that our patients have the most pleasant experience possible.
Expert Advice: If you want to keep your smile as healthy and beautiful as possible, please practice good oral hygiene at home, visit us regularly for examinations, and treat cavities right away.
