Kids and adults alike get relief from wear and tear on the teeth through dental restorations. Dental fillings may be needed because a tooth has decay (a cavity), is cracked or broken teeth, is teeth worn down by bruxism (grinding), nail-biting, injury or from using your teeth to grip or open things!
What happens during the filling? A lot of parents (who impressively haven’t had fillings themselves yet!) and their kids ask us this. Here’s our guide.
What Happens During the FIlling
You or your child get a local anesthetic or nitrous (laughing) gas to make sure everyone’s comfortable.
Next, if it’s a cavity, we use a drill to clean out and remove the decayed area.
We call the drill a handpiece (or Mr. Whistle). It uses metal cones (burs) to precisely cut through damaged or undermined enamel and remove the decay inside the tooth. Like drill bits, burs also have many shapes and sizes for every size of tooth and location of decay.
We use a high speed drill first to remove the decay and any loose enamel. We switch to a lower-speed drill when we reach the dentin, the second layer of the tooth which is softer.
After removing all the decay, or if it’s for broken, cracked or worn teeth, we shape the space and prepare it for the appropriate filling material that will restore the tooth like new.
Every type of filling requires a different shaping preparation to set the filling in place and make sure it stays there. First, your dentist will also protect your tooth’s pulp (where the “root” or nerves are) with a base that is designed to heal and sooth the nerves of the teeth to help the tooth remain vital and healthy.
Amalgam or silver fillings are tried and true fillings that are packed into a retentive cavity that is prepared by the dentist. This filling does not bond to the teeth so it is densely packed into the undercuts that the dentist makes and our dentist will burnish the margin where this filling meets the tooth to create an excellent seal. These fillings are very durable and are great for baby teeth that will eventually fall out.
Composite fillings are bonded fillings. These are usually done for front teeth and adult teeth. They need etching and bonding agent preparation to make an adhesion to the tooth. This means they are moisture sensitive and don’t work well in areas that may get wet while being installed. After the etch makes microscopic nooks and crannies on the tooth surface, the bonding agent is applied and the bond strength is high enough to hold in the filling. These tooth colored fillings need a dental curing light to harden. Our dentists shine a blue-spectrum light inside your mouth directly on the filling material several times as layers of filling material are added. This hardens and strengthens the material.
The anesthetic typically wears off quickly after the work is done and we recommend you let it wear off before eating. Once it wears off, the tooth may be a little sensitive. Sensitivity can last a day or two, or a week or two and you should let your dentist know if it doesn’t go away after this amount of time.
While it is interesting to know more about how dentists repair teeth, our goal is to be your partners in preventing tooth decay instead! Brush, floss, eat well, and visit us every six months!
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Premier Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
