Fillings

Teeth are the hardest material in the human body.  If a piece of tooth is lost the tooth will not be able to repair itself. A piece of tooth can be lost due to decay, erosion, abrasion or trauma.  If the piece of missing tooth is small it may be better to accept the tooth as it is but in most cases it is best to replace the missing piece of tooth. This is called a filling.

 

Today the majority of fillings are using a material called a composite resin. This material comes in a variety of colours (different shades of white) and there are many different companies making hundreds of different brands.  When a composite resin is placed it will be bonded to the tooth.  This means that the filling and the tooth are joined together.  This bond is strong but not as strong as the original tooth.

 

My old amalgam fillings look terrible.

At the time most amalgam fillings were placed it was the best possible material by a long way.  Without these old fillings a lot of teeth would have been lost, so start by thanking the dentist profession for saving so many of your teeth. Today there are better materials available so amalgam is rarely used.

 

Amalgam fillings do contain mercury.  That’s a fact. People with amalgam fillings normally have a higher level of mercury in their blood.  It’s the significance of this that can be debated. Nobody has proved that amalgam fillings are associated with any systemic disease.

 

Amalgam fillings are at their most dangerous when being placed and when being removed.  That is when more mercury is released.  If they are left alone then the amount of mercury released on a daily basis is very low.  Mercury is present in many foods (especially fish) and people with no fillings or dentures will have some mercury present in their blood.

 

My tooth wasn’t painful until you filled it

I hate it, but it does happen.  Placing a filling in a tooth is similar to a very minor operation.  You are drilling into living tissue. This can traumatise the tooth. The tooth can take awhile to recover.  It is possible to trigger a major problem in a tooth which previously has been quiet and peaceful.

 

The tooth feels high when I bite together.

This will not settle down.  It normally means that the tooth is high or too big and the remedy is to return and have the filling adjusted.

 

The tooth is sensitive when I eat something cold.

Normally this will settle down. It can take weeks or even months but sensitivity to cold alone normally settles.  Even if the tooth was not sensitive before the filling was placed.

 

The tooth is painful when I drink coffee and it starts to throb.

You’re out of luck.  Probably won’t settle down. If the tooth starts to throb or ache spontaneously then it probably will not recover.  The tooth will probably need root canal treatment or extraction. This is irrespective of whether or not the tooth was painful before it was filled.

 

How long will my fillings last?

When we place a filling we are assuming that it will be there for ever.  If we can see a reason why the filling is compromised or why the filling should be regarded as temporary then we will tell you.

Saying all that, the majority of fillings we place are replacements for old fillings.  We are placing a material into a difficult environment.  It is moist; there are changes in temperature, changes in ph and strong biting forces.  No material is perfect.  Materials break down, wear, stain and change in such an environment. Teeth can also change, wear, break or decay.  The change in the tooth can mean replacing an old filling even though their can be nothing wrong with the filling.