Cavities are no fun. They are painful, and require drilling or in some cases root canal therapy. Individuals can do their part to prevent cavities from forming by brushing and flossing regularly, but sometimes that isn’t enough. Once a cavity forms, there isn’t any chance that it will go away. It doesn’t have to grow, but it won’t regress. If caught early enough, minimal drilling will be all that is required. For those advanced stages of a cavity, substantial drilling will most certainly be necessary, as will a filling to cover the now empty hole.
There are a number of different types of fillings, made up of a number of different types of materials. One in particular that we’d like to discuss in this post is a medicated filling.
In certain cases, the pulp of a tooth may be affected by a cavity. The pulp is the inner most section of a tooth and is very sensitive. Should this part of a tooth ever become damaged, significant pain and discomfort will almost always follow. In these cases a medicated filling may be used by dentists to help dull the associated pain.
This filling will remain in place, delivering painkilling medication to the tooth, until the pulp has healed. Once it has healed, the medicated filling will be removed and a new – permanent filling will replace it.
If you have any questions about the health of your teeth, or would like more information about cavities or medicated fillings, feel free to call our office today.