When you have a cavity form in a tooth, this could lead to a toothache and without care, the onset of an infection. Which is why our team wants to provide relief with a dental restoration. In today’s blog, your Prairie Village, KS, dentist explains how we treat cavities in one visit with lifelike dental fillings.
The Causes and Warning Signs of a Cavity
Cavities occur when harmful oral bacteria reach the dentin, the sensitive structure that composes most of your tooth. Usually, the outer enamel prevents this from happening. However, plaque buildup brought on by poor brushing and flossing habits and a diet high in sugar and starch can weaken and erode portions of enamel, allowing bacteria to reach the dentin. When the cavity forms, it will grow and spread with time. If you attend checkup visits, we can likely catch the decay in the earliest stages. Otherwise, you may not know you need treatment until it reaches a more advanced stage and you experience a toothache, at which point treatment is critical to avoid the onset of infection.
Placing a Dental Restoration
Our team will first examine the tooth with digital x-rays, so we can assess the cause and severity of your tooth decay. We then numb the tooth so you are comfortable as we remove decay from the tooth and thoroughly clean it. Our team then prepares the filling material, a metal-free composite resin we shade to blend with the rest of the tooth. The filling is safe for all ages, and can stop decay to keep your tooth intact. We also use the same material in our dental bonding procedures to mask common cosmetic imperfections. The placement process only takes one visit, and we complete it by polishing the tooth to keep it bright.
Treating More Substantial Cavities
What if you have a more advanced state of decay, beyond treatment with a dental filling? Our team can then create custom crowns from lifelike and durable materials, such as ceramic or zirconia, which can be color matched to blend with the smile. If you have an infection, we can conduct a root canal to remove the tissues, and then replace them with a filling. Finally, we cap the tooth with a custom crown. If you have any questions about how we diagnose and treat tooth decay, or about our lifelike fillings or crowns, then contact our team today.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR RESTORATIVE TREATMENTS?
Our team wants to help you maintain strong and healthy smiles, free of discomfort. To find out more about how our team treats decayed teeth with a lifelike dental restoration, you can call Dr. Browne in Prairie Village, KS, at 913-901-8585.
