Let firstly drawn back to your newborn time. When you was born, there were no harmful bacteria inside of your mouth. As you grew older and became a toddler, bacteria found its way into your mouth. It could have happened when your mom kissed you or when you licked the floor as a baby. In any case, those bacteria have now set up a permanent residence inside of your mouth and you will have to deal with them for the rest of your life.
These bacteria live on your teeth. Every time you eat something that they enjoy eating, such as candy, you provide food for them. Feeding these little creatures doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, but it is!
After they eat, they produce a very strong acid that eats away at your teeth. If you don’t remove this sticky layer of bacteria (commonly known as plaque) by brushing and flossing, the bacteria will keep destroying a tiny amount of your tooth structure every day until you get a hole in your tooth. These holes are known by many names, such as tooth decay, cavities, and dental caries.
Our bodies have the amazing ability to repair injured structures. For example, when we break a bone, our body is able to heal the bone by creating new cells that glue the bone back together. Unfortunately, this isn’t true when it comes to our teeth. Although we do get two sets of teeth in our life, once a hole forms in a tooth, the body cannot repair it. Hundreds of years ago (before fillings existed), cavities eventually caused people so much pain that they would have the tooth removed.
Amazingly, modern dentistry has found a way to let you keep your decayed teeth. All that needs to be done is to have the bacteria professionally removed and then to replace the hole in the tooth with a hard, tooth-like material known as a dental filling.
The greatest benefits of dental fillings are that they restore the integrity and strength of a tooth that has a cavity. Addressing the tooth decay early and filling the tooth eliminates the chance of the tooth decay spreading, destroying more tooth structure, and affecting the nerves and tissues within the tooth. Since fillings come in white composite form these days, an added benefit is that they are virtually invisible.
One of the risks of dental fillings involves metal fillings, which were the standard in the past. For one, metal fillings are quite noticeable. In addition, metal fillings can expands or contract slightly when in extreme temperatures, which can potentially damage a tooth. Lastly, sometimes mercury was used to form metal fillings, which is obviously a toxic substance and may pose a health risk. With all this said, it is possible to have metal fillings removed and replaced with composite material fillings.
For more information, or a consultation about which fillings are best for you, don’t hesitate to consult your local dentist.