Dental Fillings In Frisco, TX

Dental fillings treat cavities in your teeth. Fillings can also treat cracks or chips in the teeth. The point of a dental filling is to fill an area that has become sensitive to decay.

How do dental fillings work?

When you come into your dentist for a cleaning or dental exam, they may find cavities or minor damage to your teeth that need filling. A dental filling works to protect the area from further decay. The filling essentially takes the place of the hard enamel layer that covers your teeth. Your tooth enamel keeps your teeth from decaying, but it does not last forever and can become eroded from acidic foods, poor tooth care, dry mouth, frequent heartburn, and other conditions.

People can get cavities or need fillings for the following reasons:

Poor tooth and mouth care
Genetically soft teeth
Medications that cause dry mouth
Chipped teeth
Bruxism and teeth grinding
Acidic erosion from food or a stomach condition

When you go into the dentist, neither of you will probably be aware of the fact that you are going to need dental fillings in Frisco, TX until they take a look at your mouth. Once discovered that you need fillings, the dentist will assess whether or not you both have the time to take care of the problem then. If so, the dentist will make preparations. To start, your dentist will apply a local anesthetic.

Next, your dentist will remove any decay that needs to come out. They will test to make sure all decay was removed. This includes all bacteria and debris. If your decay is near the root or the bottom of the tooth, there might be a couple of extra steps.

Once the decay is removed, your dentist will add the filling composite. The filling will be polished, and you will be all done!

Once you have your filling in place, you should make sure to keep up with your oral hygiene so that you do not get more cavities in the same tooth or other teeth. You will also want to avoid overly sticky and crunchy foods. Sticky foods can pull the fillings out, and crunchy foods can damage the filling material.

What Are Dental Fillings Made From?

A long time ago, fillings were often created from lead. Since then, we learned that it is not good to ingest lead. Therefore, new materials have come into favor over the use of lead for fillings. Dentists sometimes only use preferred fillings. Due to cost, sometimes they use specific fillings, and other times they choose a type of filling for aesthetic reasons.

Gold fillings – Gold fillings are durable and can last up to 15 years. Some people prefer to have gold fillings because they like the look of them. When placing gold and silver fillings next to each other, they can cause a shock or pain to the patient, so this is never recommended. Gold fillings are expensive, and they will take an extra visit to the dentist to put in place.
Silver fillings – Silver fillings last as long as gold fillings. Silver fillings often cost much less than other types of fillings. Some people don’t care for silver fillings because they don’t match their teeth. This kind of filling can also discolor the teeth. Additionally, some people are allergic to silver, and silver will expand and contract with changes in temperature, which could cause pain.
Tooth-colored composite – People like composites because they match the color of their teeth, so the fillings are not easily noticed by others. These fillings, however, only last around five years. Composites can be used as filling material. They can also be used to fix cracks or chips, and they will not expand and contract with temperature changes. These types of fillings can be expensive and may not be covered by your insurance policy.

Finding A Dentist

Need a dental filling in Frisco, TX? Frisco Dental offers a range of fillings. Give us a call today at 972-335-2201 to find out how we can help you replace old fillings or keep an eye out for new ones you may need in the future.

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