Cavities. Everybody gets them. Some might make it through life without getting one, but for the rest of us normal people we get them filled and then we move on. For those young people who have had their share of cavities and cavity fillings and don’t bother to ask, or simply forget why getting them filled is important-this blog post is for you.

Dental decay is a slow moving disease. So early decay doesn’t’ mean you need a filling. In fact, the decay can sometimes be reversed. When a tooth begins to decay it causes minerals to be sucked out of the enamel. The problem is when the enamel breaks because enamel can never grow back. Hence why it is so important to take care of it. Fluoride therapy, as well as a few other lifestyle changes like diet and better oral hygiene habits can help reverse the process by causing the minerals to build back up again, thus strengthening the enamel.

Most of the time, a filling is a straightforward judgement call. If the patient is in pain, or has an obvious cavity, then the doctor is going to move forward with a filling. Think of the filling as a cap that prevents the decay from getting worse. The dentist will clean out the decay in the cavity first then place the filling inside. This ensures that the cavity will not grow back or make the tooth worse.

Pretty easy! Cavities are no joke, but can be easily avoided with proper hygiene and diet. Take care of your teeth and your teeth will take care of you. The last thing anyone wants is to be old and have to rely on dentures other means to eat or enjoy food. If you have any questions than please reach out to us via our contact form. Until then, keep brushing and keep smiling!