When do you need a dental filling?

Dental fillings are done for a variety of reasons. Typically a patient comes in to see the dentist in order to get a regular teeth cleaning and check-up.  When the hygienist does all of their exam along with the X-rays they are able to tell the patient if there are any oral abnormalities. The X-ray is done to luck for any lucent areas in the oral cavity.  Once a spot is found the dentist is alerted to the area in question. The dentist does his own oral exam and tests every single tooth enamel and specifically the spot in question. Once the dentist tests the spot in question with his tools he will know immediately if there is a cavity or not. At our dental institution we have further tools to make sure that we diagnose a cavity correctly or not. We can use our diagnadent to make absolutely sure what we are seeing is a cavity.

Once the cavity is diagnosed it is imperative that the patient get the cavity filled with a cement like material before the tooth deteriorates even further. This is imperative as the tooth needs to be preserved from the very beginning. A further appointment is scheduled so that a filling can be performed to preserve the integrity of your tooth.

How is a dental filling done?

A dental filling is a procedure to be done by a skilled dentist with many years of experience. We need to make sure that your cavity is taken seriously so that your tooth will not degenerate into a bigger problem later. We have dentists who have been doing cavity fillings for years and are highly adept at the procedure.

First local anesthetic is applied to the mouth in order to make sure the patient is as comfortable as possible during the dental filling.  At our dental office we use a derivative of lidocaine or novocaine, a numbing medication that can make your treatment smooth and easy to tolerate. If you are afraid of the intramuscular injection we can also give you anesthetic wand treatment so that you would never know that you had anything applied to your mouth intramuscularly. It would be the most painless application of anesthesia that you have ever experienced.

Once the mouth is anesthetized drilling is performed and after, there are typically two different methods to fill your cavities.

Amalgam: This is an older yet effective method of doing fillings. This uses a combination of metal alloys to fill in the portion of your tooth that is compromised by natural causes. This could include causes such as infection, bacterial proliferation, bacterial byproducts and other issues. The metal alloy is strong and can bind to your tooth so that further bacterial byproduct penetration cannot go any further.


Composite: This is a type of dental filling that is much more widely accepted in modern dentistry because it is tooth colored and more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. This is what we use in our office because be believe in giving our patients the most up to date and current versions of treatment that are available.   

Sedation Therapy

If you are afraid to go under the drill then do not fret. We are able to offer a wide variety of sedation dentistry services to make sure that you would never experience a thing while in the chair.  We can give you oral sedation therapy the night before and the day of to make your experience the best experience it can be. We understand that going to the dentist can be very taxing and cause anxiety. We want to help you to proper oral health today. Call now 919-634-6102.