Just a bad dental filling or a breeding ground for disease?

A poor quality dental filling can come in many different forms whether it be an open contact causing food to trap between your teeth, an overhang, roughness making cleaning difficult or an old silver filling leaking mercury into your system. Yes, we know that silver fillings actually leak mercury to your blood stream and do often have deteriorating margins that can cause decay and they are a common cause of tooth fracture and let us not forget the fact that they look unsightly.

The one thing that these bad dental fillings have in common is that they are a breeding ground for bacteria which can lead to pain, decay, infection and gum disease.

Sometimes there may be no symptoms for a filling that needs to be replaced but if you regularly attend for your routine examinations then your dentist will be able inform you if you do require a new filling. If however, you feel like you are constantly getting food trapped in one place or experience any pain, tenderness or bleeding then these can all be indications of a poor quality or failing restoration.

So what can we do about this unnecessary haven of bacteria currently residing in your mouth?

In order to relieve pain and reverse any disease we must remove the culprit. This means we remove the old filling and place a brand new one.

Done properly, these new fillings will have smooth contacts and polished margins which not only look nicer but will last longer and reduce the risk of future disease in your mouth.

There are different ways this can be done. For smaller fillings your dentist may opt for a simple resin restoration as shown on the left. For larger fillings there is an option to use a ceramic restoration (CEREC) or even a crown.

Having a crown done is sometimes the best option but it also requires removing more of the tooth structure and takes several visits as the crown has to be made in a laboratory.  For that reason, here at Dental 359 we will often opt to use a ceramic restoration called a CEREC. Because of the high tech 3D computer technology that we use, it allows us to preserve more of the tooth surface and they can be milled right here in the practice so only one appointment is required.

If you suspect you have a filling that needs to be replaced or you are interested in finding out more about Cerec then call Kayla on 1300 625 625.mec