Everything you need to know about dental filling

The most important is prevention: the right maintain healthy teeth with oral care techniques. However, once the problem has developed; it is essential to remove the softened, infected tooth tissue and prevent it from spreading further, so the cavity must be filled!

The old amalgam fillings have now been replaced by aesthetic fillers. The aesthetic filling is so similar to the original tooth that it is barely visible to the naked eye. However, another advantage is that it has been developed using technology that allows it to chemically bond to the tooth. This means that a seal made from a good quality sealing material – if properly cleaned – can give you many years of good service.

However, it is important to clarify when a filling can be made. Many patients come to the practice toothache with a complaint, and in most cases the wish is “Let’s just fill your tooth!”. In most cases, however, this is no longer an option.

The explanation is that as the cavity starts to spread into the deeper layers of the tooth, it gets closer and closer to the pulp. Once it approaches the pulp and the bacteria enter the pulp chamber, from there in most cases the inflammatory process is irreversible and the pain and inflammation can only be eliminated possible with root canal treatment . That is, in these cases, it is no longer sufficient to remove the cavity and make a filling.

However, if the caries has not yet approached the pulp, a filling can be made.

The filling preparation process:

• First, we use a local anaesthetic to ensure that the removal of the cervix is completely painlessly . We then remove the cavity, or possibly the old filling that was in the tooth. Once we have a completely healthy tooth surface, we prepare the tooth for the filling material, using various special adhesives to help the aesthetic filling bond to the tooth. The filling material is then inserted, so that it perfectly restores the tooth in colour, shape and function. The filler is placed in the cavity in a plastic, mouldable consistency and then illuminated with a polymerisation lamp until it hardens perfectly.
• At the end of the process, the excess is removed and the surface of the filling is polished to a perfectly smooth finish.

In our dental practice, we use only high quality dental composite fillings that are fully matched to the tooth colour, which is the closest match to the original tooth.

It is of course possible to use other dental filling materials, for example gold fillings for back grinding teeth. Because of the extent of tooth decay, it may not be enough to fill the tooth to save it, but another solution may be needed. For larger caries, we recommend either inlays or onlays, which are extremely durable solutions for the wearer.