Fillings

Fillings are restorative materials used to replace missing tooth structures, often caused by cavities or a broken part of a tooth. There are many different types of fillings, and each is used for specific reasons during dental cavities filling.

What is a filling?

The most common filling materials include amalgam (silver fillings), composite (tooth coloured filling), gold and porcelain.

Symptoms

Your dentist will often recognise that you need a filling before you experience pain, but you may need permanent tooth filling if you notice you have symptoms such as:

Sensitivity to hot, cold, and sugary foods.
Pain when chewing.
General dental pain.
Dark spot visible on a tooth.
Getting food stuck in certain spots in your mouth.
Rough, broken, chipped, or fractured tooth.
Filling that has already fallen out.

Common Causes & Prevention

Poor oral hygiene:  Not brushing regularly allows plaque to build up and damage the tooth. Brush regularly to prevent dental cavities.
Plaque Formation:  Plaque is caused when bacteria, acid, food particles, and saliva combine in your mouth. The acid in the plaque attacks your tooth’s enamel and eventually can cause holes in your teeth, otherwise known as cavities.
Dry Mouth:  Saliva and water help to wash plaque from the teeth. If you have a dry mouth with very little saliva, plaque may build up more quickly.
Medical Problems:  Some medical issues can contribute to a tooth cavity by causing acid from your stomach to flow back into your mouth. Similarly, bulimia increases the risk of a tooth cavity when the teeth are exposed to stomach acid during frequent vomiting.

Treatment

Dental cavities filling is a very common dental treatment and is no cause for major concern. Your dentist will usually use a local anaesthetic to numb your gums and parts of your mouth. A local anaesthetic only numbs the area being treated, which means you’ll still be awake during the procedure and able to interact with your dentist. The dentist will then fill the cavity, and you should be good to go.

If you are concerned about having a cavity, you can get a Teledentistry.com online dental consultation now, and one of our online dentists will prescribe medications that can help alleviate your pain or symptoms of tooth infection until you can get into seeing a dentist in person.

Fillings

What is a filling?

Symptoms

Common Causes & Prevention

Treatment

Commonly Asked Questions

What are fillings?

Which materials are used as fillings?

How much will I pay for fillings?

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