If you have a cavity in one of your teeth, you are going to need to visit a dental clinic to have a filling put in. Otherwise, the cavity is going to get worse, and eventually you will end up losing that tooth. This can also damage the surrounding teeth, and then you have many more dental issues to deal with, including more cavities. There are a few different types of materials that are used for dental fillings. For back teeth, many people choose the less expensive silver fillings. For front teeth, amalgam, porcelain, or composite fillings are often used because they match the color of the teeth and are not visible. Gold is another material that is used for fillings. Before the tooth can be filled, the dentist must first prepare the tooth. The following is what you can expect when you are getting a filling.

Anesthetic

Upon your arrival at the dental clinic, the dentist will inject a local anesthetic into the part of the mouth where the bad tooth is. This freezes the area, so you won't feel any pain while the dentist is doing the rest of the work. After a few minutes, once the freezing has set in, the dentist uses a dental dam or shield to cover the rest of the teeth so that only the tooth to be worked on is showing.

Drilling

Once the gum has been frozen and the tooth isolated, the dentist will start drilling with a high-powered dental drill. This removes the decay inside the tooth. If the decay is not removed, having a filling put in will only mask the problem. A cavity is an infection, and that infection is not going to go away on its own and will continue to grow and become worse. After the drilling has been done, many dentists will insert a liner before putting the filling in. This is going to reduce pain for anyone who has sensitive teeth. It covers the pulp, which is the nerve in the tooth, so there will be no pain from the filling.

Filling

Now that the tooth is fully prepared, the dentist will use the material that has been chosen for the filling. The process used will vary, depending on the type of material that is being used for the filling. The tooth may be sensitive after the procedure, but this sensitivity shouldn't last for longer than a few days.

For more information, contact a business such as Identity Dentistry.

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