Pendleton Dentistry Amalgam Fillings
Cavities are no fun. That is a fact. But, dentists have been provided with updated technology and tools to be able to combat cavities without pain. The days of dreading the dentist over a cavity are over. The process is actually quite easy and does not take long at all. There are a few options for treating cavities now, but this will go over the most common procedures, as you will most likely receive these in any case.
First, your dentist will evaluate the cavity and determine the best course of action. If your cavity is more like a large, decayed part of a tooth that is not leaving much behind, they may determine that the tooth has to either come out, or that it will have to be filed down for a crown to be placed over it. If the cavity is smaller, which most are, then your dentist will proceed to remove the decayed portion of the tooth with a special tool. Do not worry, the dentist numbs the area and checks for feeling before they begin.
Once the decayed portion is gone, the dentist and their assistants will clean the area and prepare it for filling. The area that was removed is going to be replaced with a ‘composite filling’ that is very similar to the structural makeup of teeth, and they will mix it to custom fit and to match your normal tooth color. They will do everything they can to mask the filling.
There is another popular material dentist’s like to use that is called Amalgam filling. This material is very hard and is used to fix very large cavities or chipped teeth that require a stronger filling because of the bite force put upon them, like your back molars, which are used for most of the chewing that happens in your mouth. With Amalgam, the color matching can be a bit more difficult, and usually more of the tooth has to be removed in order for the layers of Amalgam to properly harden and form a strong bond.
Your dentist will use the best material for the job. Once they lay on some filling, the dentist will use a special UV light to harden the material in seconds. They will repeat this process until there is enough of the filling to be shaped and polished.
The final step is to grind down the filling a bit, smoothing it out against the rest of the tooth, and forming it to make it look as natural as possible. Then, the dentist will use a special tool that polishes the tooth and the filling material so that they both look one in the same. Once the dentist looks over the filling and is satisfied with their work, you will be done. If you have multiple cavities, chipped teeth, or broken teeth, your dentist may keep you for awhile and fill multiple teeth at a time.
