Fillings & Cavities
Fillings
Preventing cavities can be done in many ways. Regular visits to the dentist for cleanings and checkups are one way to prevent cavities as well as to catch them early. Brushing your teeth and flossing every day is another great way to prevent cavities. Don’t forget to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water after eating sugary or acidic food and beverages like soda, juice, candy, and other sweet treats. If you are at high risk for developing cavities, ask your dentist about other things you can do to help prevent them.
Cavities
Sometimes you won’t experience any symptoms when you first develop a cavity. Especially early on, when the decay is minimal and fillings are most helpful, a cavity may not cause any pain or discomfort as it’s still only affecting the outer layers of the teeth and not the nerve. This is one reason why it’s important to see your dentist regularly for cleanings and checkups, so that cavities can be caught and filled before they start to cause problems.
Once a cavity is a little more progressed, you may experience tooth sensitivity and pain. Other symptoms are visible dark spots or pitting in the teeth, having bad breath or bad tastes in the mouth, or inflamed or bleeding gums.
If left untreated, a cavity won’t just go away without treatment. It can progress and become infected, form an abscess, cause sinus issues, and even lead to bone loss in the jaw and gum disease. Getting a filling is easy and relatively inexpensive, so don’t let a cavity progress and get it treated early on.
What to Expect
If you’re getting a filling, you can expect to first get a topical anesthetic on your gums. This will help to numb the area, then a local anesthetic injection will further numb the area to make sure your procedure is pain free. After your gums and tooth are numb, the cavity is removed from your tooth and filled in. The whole procedure usually takes only an hour or so and you can go back to your regular activities. You may experience some tooth sensitivity on the filled in tooth for up to a month after the procedure, though it typically doesn’t last more than a few days.
Prevention
When it comes to the health of your teeth, prevention is the best treatment. Tooth pain can be debilitating and extensive procedures can be costly. You only get one set of adult teeth, and there are only so many fillings, root canals, and repairs that can be done to a tooth before it has to be extracted. Preventing cavities can be done in many ways. Regular visits to the dentist for thorough cleanings and checkups is one major way to prevent cavities as well as to catch them early. Brushing your teeth and flossing everyday is another major way to prevent cavities. Brushing your teeth after eating sugary or acidic foods and drinks like soda, candy, and fruits is also a good idea to keep your teeth healthy. Avoiding these foods altogether is a good idea if possible. Indigestion can also cause cavities, so treating this condition if you have it can be good prevention for cavities.
If you’re due for a cleaning or experiencing any symptoms of cavities, call Rochester Dental Clinic today and make an appointment!
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