Dental Fillings and Extractions in Colton
Dental Fillings
When there is a cavity, most common form of treatment is a dental filling. Dental filling is done when the cavity went into the secondary layer call Dentin(yellow layer). This is diagnosed through both x-ray and intra oral pictures. Sometimes when tooth is cracked/chipped on the front and pulp (nerve) is not exposed, white filling is done to repair the crack.
Most dental filling procedures feature the following:
- Topical anesthetic to numb the area of treatment
- Decay removal from the affected teeth
- Tooth restoration using a composite or amalgam filling
- Polish the composite or carve/remove excess amalgam.
Extraction
On your child, extraction or taking out of baby tooth is performed when:
- Tooth has a gross decay that can’t be saved with nerve treatment and crown
- Tooth has an infection
- Tooth’s root has resorption and nerve is exposed
- Permanent tooth is erupting in wrong direction or can’t erupt due to root curvature of the baby tooth
- Orthodontist request to have extraction to start early orthodontic treatments
- Tooth is cracked and can’t be saved
If the back tooth is extracted prematurely due to an infection or accident or gross cavities, our dentist can possible do space maintainer to create and preserve a space for permanent tooth to erupt right way. Ask our dentist for more details
Commonly asked Questions
I heard that amalgam/silver filling contains mercury. Isn’t it dangerous for my child?
Silver amalgam has been used for over last 100 years. There are thousands of studies on safety of the amalgam as a dental filling material. There is not one study that firmly confirms that mercury in silver filling affect the body in anyway. Tuna and other fishes that you and your child consume contain more mercury than silver filling. Children dental world is using silver filling in the back for one reason: the strength and durability of the material. We do not want to remove/grind your teeth over and over again just because white filling is leaking. For more details, ask our dentist.
Why do I have to treat the cavities on the baby teeth when they are going to all fall out?
Once the tooth has a cavities, it will only get bigger. In case of inter-proximal cavities, chances are that cavities will spread to adjacent tooth because your child can’t really clean the area well with floss. Every baby tooth falls out at the right time. If it is extracted prematurely due to infection or any other reasons, it will create myriad of problems. Ask our dentist for more information.
Can I just leave the loose tooth or baby teeth alone? Why do I have to take it out?
There’s a reason why our dentist will tell you to extract your child’s tooth. In case of loose tooth, if it is over-retained and potentially create a problem for the permanent tooth eruption, our doctor will make a suggestion. In addition, if you leave a loose tooth on your child, your child will not want to brush/clean the area due to fear of tooth falling out. The consequences of not cleaning leads to many problems, not only to that area but overall oral health of your child.
