The Role of Dental Fillings in Maintaining a Healthy Smile
Although few people take it seriously, it takes an incredible amount of work to sustain a healthy smile. Visiting a dentist in Forty Fort, PA once a year is not enough. You must engage in other dental care measures at home to keep your oral cavity healthy. However, any chance you get, cling to the dental services dentists provide that can boost your oral health. For example, did you know that dental fillings can help maintain a healthy smile?
What Are Dental Fillings?
They are special materials that dentists use to repair and restore damaged teeth. Typically, dental fillings in Forty Fort PA, are renowned for treating decayed teeth. The filling material will replace the damaged portion of the tooth enamel, usually sealing the hole to prevent the future entry of bacteria inside the tooth layers. However, tooth fillings significantly help to preserve healthy smiles, whether or not you have dental cavities.
The Role of Dental Fillings in Preserving Healthy Smiles
Unless you have had a decayed tooth before, you may not quite appreciate the role of cavity fillings. They play a core role in establishing a tooth, typically by overcoming the following dental problems:
- Restoration of cracked or broken tooth – sometimes, a dentist can use dental fillings to restore your broken tooth. It is the better alternative to extracting the tooth.
- Repair of dental cavities – the reason they are called cavity fillings is their popularity for restoring teeth after dental decay. The filling material repairs the damaged tooth by replacing the damaged portion of the enamel.
- Prevention of plaque build-up – some special dental fillings can serve a preventive role in your smile to avoid dental decay. The dental fillings known as oral sealants create a protective barrier over the chewing surfaces of teeth, specifically the molars and premolars. The sealant material fills the fissures and pits of the back teeth to prevent food deposits from forming plaque and tartar that cause oral cavities.
- Protection of sensitive teeth – dentin hypersensitivity is an oral problem that occurs when the enamel thins out or is eroded over time. The sensitivity can make it difficult to eat or speak, given that air, heat, and cold temperatures trigger the discomfort. A dentist can employ a dental filling to protect the sensitive tooth, usually by lining it with a filling material.
How Do Dental Fillings Work?
To protect your teeth and persevere a healthy smile, dental fillings work by introducing new material to the tooth structure. The steps involved in a typical dental filling procedure are:
- Local anesthesia – it numbs your mouth, preventing discomfort and pain probable during the treatment. Besides, installing dental fillings can be invasive, especially with an underlying oral infection.
- Drilling the tooth – the dentist drills the tooth as if to create a hole. However, the intention is to remove as much tooth enamel as has succumbed to the damage. Dentists employ a cavity detector to identify the severity of the decay. Until the decay is eliminated, the dentist must keep drilling your tooth. Therefore, the deeper your cavity is, the more intense the drilling. Still, the dentist must preserve the structural integrity of your natural tooth if you are to receive a dental cavity.
- Cleaning – the dentist then cleans the tooth to eliminate any traces of bacteria. The dentist must thoroughly clean the tooth before installing a dental filling to prevent future re-entry of bacteria. Sometimes dentists use topical antibiotics to sterilize the tooth before installing the filling material.
- Filling and sealing – are often the final step of the treatment. The dentist will apply the filling material of choice over the tooth. (S)he then uses a laser to harden the filling, bonding it to your natural tooth. Afterward, the dentist will trim out any excess filling material and polish the tooth to promote an even bite. In some cases, the dentist in Forty Fort, PA may recommend placing a dental crown over the tooth. It is usually the case if the dental filling is sizeable enough to compromise the structural component of the natural tooth. The role of the dental crown would be to reinforce the tooth’s strength.
Summary
Dental fillings play an incredible role in restoring teeth to beautify smiles. Seek to visit us at NEPA Dental West to know whether it is the best solution for your tooth. While it may look like a viable solution, dental fillings may not be ideal for restoring severely damaged teeth.