Too many people let dental emergencies slide, not seeking the care they need until they just can’t bear the pain anymore. Unfortunately, delaying prompt dental treatment is the reason why the University of California San Francisco recently found hospitals are having to treat more and more issues that could have been easily fixed or even prevented with routine attention. If you’ve broken a dental filling, you need to make seeing an emergency dentist in Brookfield a priority — even if it doesn’t hurt.
Why Fillings Fall Out
No dental restoration will last forever, but well-placed fillings can last for decades without issue. They may gradually become worn due to nighttime teeth grinding. Facial trauma or dental injury can cause a filling to fall out.
If you have a silver filling, it may be at a higher risk of falling out due to bacteria that has leaked into the cavity around the edges. It can be difficult to detect a leaking silver filling, even with routine dental attention. The darker material can hide a leak or break.
Other times, a filling simply falls out because it’s older and needs to be replaced.
What We Will Do Next
When you call your dentist in Brookfield with a broken filling, we’ll schedule a time for you to come in ASAP. A broken filling exposes the cavity beneath it — and leaving it exposed for too long can damage the tooth further, injure your soft oral tissues, or cause pain.
We’ll begin by taking an x-ray to survey the health of the tooth and determine if another filling can be placed. If it can, we’ll discuss your options for filling material.
Tooth colored fillings in Brookfield offer a biocompatible and aesthetic alternative to silver, or amalgam, fillings. A tooth colored filling is made out of smooth glass and plastic particles, and precise color-matching ensures it blends flawlessly with your surrounding tooth enamel.
If the damage is too significant to replace with another filling, your dentist will likely recommend a dental crown. This restoration completely covers the visible surface of the affected tooth.
Preventing Broken Fillings
You can help keep a broken filling from happening to you through regular visits to your dentist’s office. With routine x-rays and examinations, our team will stay on top of the health of your fillings and ensure you receive a replacement as soon as is you need one.
In addition to making sure you visit your dentist regularly, take these other positive oral hygiene tips to keep your fillings strong.
- Brush and floss teeth as recommended
- Avoid excessively chewy or sticky foods, especially if the filling is on the chewing surface
- Wear a sports guard or mouth guard if you play contact sports or grind your teeth at night
Your Dentist Provides Restorative Care
The Elmbrook Dental team offers comprehensive dental services to families in and around Brookfield. All of our dentists work to provide personalized, caring solutions to help patients achieve the ultimate in dental health. We invite you to contact us at (262) 784-7201 to learn more about our superior dental services!