Common Treatments For Tooth Decay

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When you follow a healthy oral hygiene routine, you help prevent the environment that causes tooth decay and gum disease from appearing. Brushing and flossing your teeth daily cleans the deposit of debris and bacteria from your diet that can form plaques and threaten your health. While vigilant hygienic practices are necessary to maintain the best smile possible, from time to time you may still receive a cavity. Also known as caries, cavities are the result of permanent harm to the surface enamel of your tooth and require removal to prevent continual growth. When decaying tissues are removed, the process permanently alters its structure and requires fortification for your tooth

At your Prairie Village, KS dentist’s office, we offer preventive and restorative treatments to best fight the effects of tooth decay! By attending regular dental checkups, we can remove plaque and tartar, and examine your mouth for signs of existing decay. When we detect a cavity, we treat it by removing decayed material and filling the hole. A dental filling can restore the appearance of a healthy tooth and protect the inner structure from reinfection.

How Cavities Form In Your Teeth

A cavity is the result of acidic erosion of the tooth’s enamel. Left untreated, a dental carry can cause toothaches and lead to serious infection or require total extraction. This acid is usually the byproduct of oral bacteria that form plaques with the remnants of food and drink from your meals. By not removing plaque, you allow their acidic byproduct to chemically wear down the enamel day by day. Therefore, regularly practicing a daily brushing and flossing routine and attending your semiannual dental checkups helps treat the conditions that lead to cavity development.

Removing Your Cavity And Placing A Dental Filling

If we detect a cavity’s presence in your tooth, we will recommend its removal before it grows in scope and damages more of your healthy material. We will drill out decaying material and apply the appropriate restoration. A dental filling made of composite resin can treat most tooth decay issues early in their formation. Because the area affected by decay no longer has protective enamel, your filling restores the outside layer that prevents infection from taking hold in the tooth’s inner structure.

Talk To Your Prairie Village, KS Dentist About Treating Cavities With A Dental Filling

Tooth decay affects many people at different stages throughout their lives and failing to treat it can lead to serious oral complications. By removing a cavity and placing a dental filling, we can prevent the remaining healthy tooth from further decay and return your bright smile! For more information on how we prevent and treat the effects of tooth decay, contact our Prairie Village, KS dentist’s office today at 913-901-8585.