Fillings Air Abrasion or "Drill-less Fillings" Amalgams or "Silver Fillings" What You May Experience During a filling: A filling is a simple procedure to stop decay. The decay is removed, and a filling material is placed to restore the missing tooth structure. You should be very comfortable during the procedure. Post-op instructions: Afterwards, you may experience some mild discomfort and increased temperature sensitivity. Deeper decay will lead to exaggerated symptoms. Avoid chewing on silver fillings for 24 hours. White fillings are fully hard right away. Your gums may be tender, rinse with warm salt water or use oragel. If your bite feels high, you may need a bite adjustment. Be careful not to chew your cheek or tongue while you’re numb. If you have any questions or concerns, contact our office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternative treatments: Front teeth are always filled with tooth colored fillings for cosmetic reasons. Back teeth can be filled with traditional “silver fillings” or tooth colored. The main considerations in choosing are size of the restoration, looks and cost. The fee is the same at Crossgates Dental Care, and for small to moderate restorations they both last similar lengths of time, but tooth colored fillings look better. Sometimes crowns are a better choice than fillings. When more than 2/3 of the tooth is gone, the tooth becomes very weak, and can break. A crown will cover the whole tooth and protect it from breaking. Too Much Filling Too Little Tooth If you choose to do nothing, the decay will continue to grow, eventually causing pain, more expensive treatment and or tooth loss. Additional Fees and Procedures: Most people can expect to replace their fillings in their lifetime. Our diagnostic abilities are limited and a tooth may require additional, unanticipated treatment. No medical or dental treatment has a 100% success rate. Treatment can fail, requiring additional procedures to be performed, including replacement, crowns, root canal therapy and or extraction. Small changes in your bite can trigger pre-existing problems in your joint to lead to joint dysfunction.

What Is Air Abrasion? Air abrasion, also called "microabrasion" and kinetic cavity preparation, is a method of tooth structure removal considered to be an effective alternative to the standard dental drill. Air abrasion technology functions much like the sandblasting technique used to clear graffiti from walls. An air abrasion handpiece blows a powerful air stream of tiny, fine aluminum oxide particles out of its tip onto tooth structure. Air abrasion uses the kinetic energy principle, in which particles bounce off the tooth and blasts the decay away. It most commonly is used to prepare various types of cavities to be restored with composites, or "white fillings." Air abrasion also can be effectively used to repair cracks and discolorations, prepare tooth surfaces for bonding procedures, and perform additional procedures. What are its advantages? Air abrasion procedures are virtually painless, which, in most cases, eliminates the need for an anesthetic injection. Air abrasion systems produce no vibration and no heat from friction. The technology can't harm soft mouth tissue and they operate very quietly. Because air abrasion cuts tooth surfaces with the utmost precision, it removes less tooth than the drill and it reduces the risk of enamel micro-fracturing. In other words, the advantages are more of your tooth is preserved, there is little or no discomfort, no anesthetic numbness is needed, and treatment time is usually shorter. How does air abrasion work? Air abrasion procedures can leave an accumulation of harmless, dusty particle debris in the patient's mouth, resulting in a gritty feeling that is eradicated by rinsing. Your dentist may require you to wear protective glasses during the procedure, and a rubber dam may be applied inside your mouth and around the tooth area being treated to serve as a particle barrier. To reduce dust buildup, the dentist or dental assistant may use a vacuum hose or a water spray technique while administering air abrasion. Is air abrasion suitable for everyone? Yes. It is an especially good option for children who may be afraid of the needle, and the noise, and vibration of a regular dental drill. However, there are some treatments, like crown and bridge preparation, that still require the use of a dental drill. Air abrasion can't be used as an alternative in every procedure. Who will provide my air abrasion treatment? Your general dentist, who has been trained in restorative dentistry techniques, will perform any procedures that use air abrasion technology. Ask your dentist if he or she uses air abrasion equipment and if this technique is right for you.

Dental amalgam What Is Dental Amalgam? Most people recognize dental amalgams as silver fillings. Dental amalgam is a mixture of mercury, and an alloy of silver, tin and copper. Mercury makes up about 45-50 percent of the compound. Mercury is used to bind the metals together and to provide a strong, hard durable filling. After years of research, mercury has been found to be the only element that will bind these metals together in such a way that can be easily manipulated into a tooth cavity. Is mercury in dental amalgam safe? Mercury in dental amalgam is not poisonous. When mercury is combined with other materials in dental amalgam, its chemical nature changes, so it is essentially harmless. The amount released in the mouth under the pressure of chewing and grinding is extremely small and no cause for alarm. In fact, it is less than what patients are exposed to in food, air, and water. Ongoing scientific studies conducted over the past 100 years continue to prove that amalgam is not harmful. Claims of diseases caused by mercury in amalgam are anecdotal, as are claims of miraculous cures achieved by removing amalgam. These claims have not been proven scientifically. Why do dentists use dental amalgam? Dental amalgam has withstood the test of time, which is why it is the material of choice. It has a 150-year proven track record and is still one of the safest, durable and least expensive materials to a fill a cavity. It is estimated that more than 1 billion amalgam restorations (fillings) are placed annually. Dentists use dental amalgams because it is easier to work with than other alternatives. Some patients prefer dental amalgam to other alternatives because of its safety, cost-effectiveness, and ability to be placed in the tooth cavity quickly. What about patients allergic to mercury? The incidence of allergy to mercury is far less than one percent of the population. People suspected of having an allergy to mercury should be tested by qualified physicians, and, when necessary, seek appropriate alternatives. Should patients have amalgam removed? No. To do so, without need, would result in unnecessary expense, and potential injury to teeth. Are staff occupationally exposed? Dentists are using pre-mixed capsules, which reduce the chance of mercury spills. And newer, more advanced dental amalgams are containing smaller amounts of mercury than before. An interesting factor can be brought into this: Because dental staff are exposed to mercury more often, one would expect dental personnel to have higher rates of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. They, in fact, do not. What are other sources of mercury? Mercury can be found in air, food, fish, and water. We are exposed to higher levels of mercury from these sources than from a mouthful of amalgam.

This information was compiled for you by the Academy of General Dentistry. Your dentist cares about long-term dental health for you and your family and demonstrates that concern by belonging to the Academy of General Dentistry. As one of the 37,000 general dentists in the United States and Canada who are members of the Academy, your dentist participates in an ongoing program of professional development and continuing education to remain current with advances in the profession and to provide quality patient treatment. Visit the AGD's website at www.agd.org.