4 Alternatives To Fillings

When your tooth gets a cavity, your dentist will drill off the damaged and infected part of your tooth and then fill in the empty space with one of several materials, usually a kind of metal composite. It’s a simple (if sometimes painful) operation that almost everyone goes through at least once. But what happens when a basic drilling and filling isn’t enough to repair the damage? The answer to that question depends on where and just how bad the damage is.

Root Canal

 

Human teeth have three layers: the completely mineral enamel outer layer, the mostly mineral dentin layer in the middle, and the living pulp at the center. Cavities and cavity-causing bacteria eat away at teeth from the outside in, dissolving the enamel first and then going through the dentin layer. But while that’s harmful enough, if the bacteria reach the pulp layer they can start to spread and cause a serious infection. That’s when a dentist will usually recommend a root canal, a procedure that drills out the pulp all the way to the root and then fills in the now-hollow tooth.

Veneer

 

Cavities and tooth decay can sometimes strike in places where a regular filling won’t work, like the sides of your front teeth. When this happens, you may need something different to repair the damage and restore your smile. Veneers use a porcelain or resin coating to change the appearance of your teeth, making them look straighter, bigger, smaller, or undamaged. For some tooth decay, a veneer is the best solution to restore a tooth’s appearance.

 

Crown

 

If decay is a serious problem all across the surface of a tooth, or if a cavity becomes too big for a regular filling to work, you may want to get an artificial crown. A crown is similar to a veneer, but it replaces the enamel layer with something artificial like resin or porcelain.

 

Dental Implant

 

At some point, your tooth may have to come out entirely. At that point, you can fill in the gap with a partial denture, or you can get a dental implant to replace it. Dental implants use titanium screws and porcelain crowns to replace the form and function of missing teeth, and they’re almost as good as a natural tooth.

There are plenty of alternatives out there to fillings, but almost all of them are for when a normal filling wouldn’t be enough. So go in for your fillings when your dentist tells you and don’t forget to brush and floss every day because if you don’t a filling could eventually become something more serious.