Fillings

What are your choices for treating a tooth damaged by cavities? When you have a cavity, you really only have two choices. You can choose to postpone treatment or get a filling. The problem with postponing treatment is that a cavity will never go away on its own. It just gets bigger and bigger. If a cavity is allowed to get too big it can easily infect the pulp chamber, which contains the tooth's nerves and blood vessels. Once the infection gets started you will need root canal treatment to save the tooth. A filling stops a cavity from getting larger. The decayed portion of the tooth is removed and the tooth is sealed with a filling material. This restores the tooth's function, and keeps your mouth healthy. In the past, silver amalgam fillings were the only choice. But with today's technology there are filling materials which are stronger and do not contain any mercury, like silver fillings. The choice of most people today is a tooth colored resin filling. They are as durable as silver fillings but provide additional strength because they are bonded directly to the tooth. Resin fillings are completed in one appointment. Another popular choice today is a porcelain onlay. Onlays cover the biting surface of the tooth and also fill the portion of the tooth damaged by the decay. The onlay is bonded tightly in place with an adhesive, providing even more strength to the tooth than the resin fillings. The onlay is crafted in a dental laboratory to precisely fit your tooth, so it requires two appointments to complete. When a large portion of a tooth is damaged by decay, a significant amount of the tooth must be removed. As a result, the tooth loses much of its natural structure, support and strength. The tooth can easily fracture and a portion of it can break completely away. In order to prevent this from happening a crown can be placed on the tooth. A crown completely covers the portion of the tooth that extends above the gum line and is permanently cemented on the tooth. The crown protects the tooth by adding strength and stability while restoring its function and appearance. It is best to place a crown on the tooth before it fractures. At times a tooth can fracture in such a way that it can not be saved and would have to be extracted.