Hello, Dr. Perry here at Farmington Family Dental. I'm here to talk about dental fillings and answer some of the more common questions I get asked about what they are and what they're used for.
Dr. Perry, what are dental fillings?
Dental fillings are a way for us to reconstruct part of a tooth that's either broken or decayed. It is a plastic-type material that we use. That's the tooth-colored material that we use, so it matches. It's a plastic-type material that cures when we put a light on it. It hardens, and you can go home and eat immediately on that type of filling.
Can fillings be avoided?
Fillings certainly can be avoided. I'm a bit of a realist, so bear with me here for a minute. When I tell people they should be flossing and brushing after each meal, most people will not do that for whatever reason—life's busy, whatever. If they did that and adhered to a low-carbohydrate, low sugar diet, fillings can be avoided probably 95% of the time. But for the rest of us who like root beer and chocolate and don't brush and floss after every meal, your mileage varies on that. Fillings can certainly be avoided, and that is the gold standard. But for the rest of us normal folk, fillings are one of the things that need to happen when you have a spot where there's decay.
Can dentists do fillings without drilling?
Fillings don't always require drilling, and they don't always require getting a tooth numb. Drilling or cleaning the tooth surface is usually required but not always. Getting it numb is sometimes required but not always. When a filling is very small and done in a preventative manner, it can often be done by simply zipping around the tooth and cleaning off any debris, food, bacteria, or scum that's on the tooth, getting a good surface to bond to, and then simply filling it. No anesthetic is needed. Fillings done that way are more conservative and tend to be gentler to the tooth. They last longer, which ultimately is what we're looking for out of ideal dental work—that it lasts as long as possible.
What are the different types of fillings in dentistry?
There are three different materials or types of fillings that we'll do in dentistry. The first and most common type by far is a tooth-colored filling. Sometimes it's called a composite filling. Composite refers to what that tooth-colored material is made out of. It's made out of some resin and usually some amount of glass bead or something like that, which gives it hardness, stiffness, wear resistance, and strength. In our office, that is 90% of the fillings that we do. The second type of material is metal amalgam. These are the old fillings of days gone past. I see them in use still, and they have a purpose. I just do not use them in my office. They tend to stain and crack teeth over time, and they don't look the best. The third and final type is something that's made outside of the mouth and then put into the mouth. That could be either a porcelain material or a resin material, but because it's made outside of the mouth, engineering-wise, mechanical-wise, it's a little bit kinder and puts less stress on the tooth, less load. Now, if you're an engineer like I guess dentists are part engineer, this type of stuff really gets you going. By building it outside of the mouth, it puts less preload on the tooth and whatnot. Typically, you'll hear a filling like that called an inlay or an onlay. They could be made out of those two different types of material.
Can my dental fillings match my tooth color?
Dental fillings absolutely can be made to match the shade of your natural teeth. If you've ever met a painter who's tried to match white paint or you've wanted to do some spot touch-ups in your house, you save some of the old paint, you know that trying to get the old stuff to match the new stuff requires a little bit of artistry to get it just right. That artistry isn't the easiest thing to do. All that said, filling material can be made to match pretty darn close to what a natural tooth is. It just requires some effort.
Does a dental filling procedure hurt?
Do fillings hurt? Are we going to hurt you? No. No. No. Heaven forbid. Forty years ago, or I don't know how long it was, eighty years ago, I heard stories of dentists saying, "Oh, he'd numb you and then just start on it." That's awful. Awful. Dentistry doesn't have to be done that way. It can be done very comfortably. Often, people don't even feel the anesthetic as it's going in. We get it numb, we get the filling done, and we get it done. In some cases, when we catch decay early enough, we can get the filling done comfortably without getting you numb. That's kind of a big deal.
Do dental fillings need to be replaced?
Just like anything, let me start that again. Dental fillings do need to be replaced. Everyone's lifespan on a dental filling really depends on how large something is and how it's being used and taken care of. Everything I do inside the mouth, everything any dentist does inside the mouth will have a time limit on it. Nothing lasts forever, including the original tooth, by the way. But a good and well-done filling can last a good long time. The average lifespan I see out of fillings, when you come into the office, I'll tell you about what I'm expecting out of something. If it's less than about ten years, I'm probably going to talk about some alternatives. There are some fillings, like on the edges of your teeth up here, that really depend on how you use them because if you catch it just right, it's going to break no matter how old it is, and those ones tend to be a little bit shorter-lived. All of that said, fillings do have a lifespan. Typically, what I see is about 10 to 15 years out of a tooth-colored filling.
When should I schedule a dental appointment if I think I might need a filling?
If you're thinking you might need a filling, when should you schedule a dental appointment? Let's get that done today. Give us a call or any other office. Get in to see the dentist, have them look at it, see what's needed, and get it fixed up. Our number is 573-756-5760. Call to action.
Now you've learned a few things about dental fillings and the why about them. Often, people come to me and say, "Hey, I might have a problem. I'm here to see you for it." Don't worry about it. It ain't nothing but a thing. That's how people come in to see the dentist a lot of the time. Give us a call. We'd love to see you. Our number is 573-756-5760. We can help you get what you need done so you keep your teeth and your smile healthy and pain-free.