If your dentist finds a cavity during your routine dental checkup, they can typically solve the problem by removing it, and restoring your tooth with a dental filling. Fillings are used for smaller cavities – made from composite resin, your filling will look enough like your enamel to blend in with its surroundings. While patients commonly receive this type of restoration, you should know that larger cavities can call for support from a dental crown. By keeping up with dental checkups every six months, you can lower your risk for a cavity that requires a crown. Of course, those regular checkups – and good oral care at home – also bring down your risk of having cavities at all.
Questions:
True Or False: Metal fillings are the only type of fillings available to you.
True Or False: You can have a filling placed to restore your tooth after a cavity, no matter how big the cavity was.
True Or False: The material used to make a dental filling can also help with cosmetic dental work.
Answers:
False! Your dentist can place a composite resin filling to restore your tooth. The resin material looks more like your natural tooth structure, and is able to bond directly to your enamel, which provides excellent support.
False! Larger, more severe cavities can leave your tooth in need of more than a filling. Your dentist can protect these vulnerable teeth by placing dental crowns on them.
True! Composite resin is used in cosmetic work, too. Your dentist uses the material to cover dental damage, and correct misshapen or discolored teeth, in what is known as a dental bonding treatment.
