Therapy

Tooth filling is usually called “therapy”. A tooth may need filling due to caries, splits or fractures, wear, aesthetic purposes, necessity to replace the old fillings, etc. Cavities caused by dental caries are the ones most commonly filled. Caries develops when the teeth are not brushed well and some plaque remains on them. Typical damaged locations are tooth grooves, inter-teeth, tooth surfaces at the gums and the furthest back molars difficult to reach with a toothbrush. Plaque bacteria decompose food remnants and produce acids that destroy the tooth tissue. At first, only the tooth surface is damaged over a few weeks and a white lustreless carious spot appears. Expansion of this spot and restoration of previous enamel strength is still possible at this point without tooth filling by extremely thorough cleaning and the use of particular substances containing minerals. Thus, a timely visit paid to an odontologist to notice the lesion that is beginning is of extreme importance. If the lesion is not stopped at the stage of a carious spot, dental caries spreads to the depth of the tooth and forms a cavity that requires tooth filling. The longer the delay in filling, the wider spread of the lesion: the cavity does not stop developing and does not heal on its own. Eventually, dental caries reaches the deepest layers of the tooth and damages the tooth nerve. Infection of the tooth may spread to the surrounding bone, an intense pain develops and this already requires endodontic treatment (tooth root canal cleaning). Moreover, food remnants accumulate in the cavity, an unpleasant mouth smell appears, gums are damaged, the tooth may break and, in some cases, the tooth must be extracted.

Often, dental caries is, at first, imperceptible and invisible, and only detectable by a thorough examination of an odontologist or from dental x-ray images. Therefore, visiting an odontologist twice a year is recommended to prevent the further development of dental caries.

   How is this performed?

• The odontologist listens to the complaints of the patient, examines their teeth, takes an x-ray image and evaluates the situation.

• Local anaesthesia is applied, if necessary, to eliminate any unpleasant sensations of the patient throughout the entire procedure.

• The tooth tissues destroyed and affected by dental caries are removed with special instruments.

• The remaining cavity is filled with a filling substance. Only substances with a matching colour and strength of the tooth are used; when they are still soft, the doctor forms them to fit the previous shape of the tooth ideally and then hardens the filling using a special light.

• The filling is adjusted to the bite of the patient, polished and given a lustre. It looks and functions just like the natural tooth.

• The patient can eat or drink right after the filling procedure; there are no inconveniences.

The therapists of the DentalPRO clinic will explain the possibilities, necessity, course and safety of any of the above procedures and answer all your questions during your consultation.