Conservative treatment principles are essential in our clinic. Dental caries should be caught at an early stage and treated and restored with minimal loss of material. Amalgam fillings are almost abandoned today. With the help of developing technology, white fillings are preferred. These are adhesive composites or porcelain fillings.
Filling Treatment Conservative Dental Treatment
Objective
It is the cleaning of tooth decay and filling the cavity with an artificial filling material.
Tooth decay is nowadays defined as a disease that occurs in dental tissues due to more than one cause.
Causes of Tooth Decay
- Bacterial plaque
- Carbohydrate foods (sugar, flour etc.)
- Constitutional factors (tooth structure, composition of saliva, etc.)
- Time (length of time food stays in the mouth)
Bacterial plaque formed by bacteria in the mouth can form acids from the residues of sugary and floury foods left in the mouth. These acids dissolve the mineral tissue of the tooth and disrupt the enamel of the tooth, causing the formation of cavities on the tooth, which we call cavities.
Diagnosis and Diagnostic Methods
Dental caries can occur on the chewing surface of the tooth, on the interfaces of the teeth that touch each other or on the neck of the teeth. Browning or cavities on visible surfaces are easy to detect. However, an x-ray diagnosis is also necessary for cavities that have not developed these symptoms.
Decay that starts in the enamel tissue of the tooth progresses to the dentin tissue when left untreated. Dentin is a structure that dissolves more easily than enamel and therefore caries progression is rapid. In caries that has reached the dentin tissue, the patient may have hot, cold, sour, or sweet sensitivity caused by a factor. This pain disappears when the factor is removed.
If the pain is persistent, the decay has progressed to the pulp layer of the tooth where the vascular-nerve bundle is collected and root canal treatment is necessary.
Treatment Methods
Composite Filling
It is a plastic mixture containing silicon dioxide particles. With its various color options, it is not noticeable on the teeth and is also called aesthetic-white filling. The material, which was used only in the front teeth for a while, has been strengthened with various methods and made suitable for the back teeth. The filling material placed on the tooth using a special binding agent is hardened with a light device and polished in the same session.
Porcelain Filling
In porcelain fillings, an impression is taken from the prepared cavity and sent to the laboratory. When the patient comes to the next session, the polished porcelain filling is adhered to the cavity.
Amalgam Filling
It is formed by mixing silver, tin and copper alloy with 45-50% mercury. After the cavity is filled with amalgam filling material, it is recommended not to use that area for two hours and not to chew anything hard for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the well-hardened filling is polished.