Fillings & Dental Cavity Treatment

Protecting your teeth from dental cavities and associated damage is an important part of our job at Centre Dentaire Don Quichotte! Our dentists in Île-Perrot are pleased to provide dental cavity treatments.

Cavities are the most widespread disease in the world. Nevertheless, it is worth preventing their development by adopting good practices and visiting your dentist regularly. An untreated cavity may cause significant harm to your oral health and even lead to the irreversible loss of the affected teeth.

Causes of Tooth Decay

Bacteria in our mouths are responsible for tooth decay. They feed from the sugar contained in the food residues that accumulate on our teeth when we eat. They then produce acids that attack tooth enamel, which is the hard, white and visible part of our teeth. When attacked by acids, the enamel gradually breaks down and holes appear on the tooth surface: this is how cavities are formed.

Progression of Cavities

To understand how a cavity can affect our teeth, it is important to know that teeth have three layers: enamel, dentine, and dental pulp. The enamel is the outer layer of a tooth, under which is the dentine, the tooth’s central layer, which is softer and yellowish. Last, the dental pulp is in the centre of the tooth and contains the nerves and blood vessels.

It is important to prevent the progression of cavities because, as they develop, the health of the affected teeth becomes increasingly compromised. Depending on the affected parts of the tooth, your dentist will offer the right solution.

The enamel is the only affected part :a cavity at an early stage will usually not cause symptoms. It will only be detected during a dental examination carried out by a dentist. A filling could then be necessary to stop the progression of the cavity. It can be made in composite, amalgam, or ceramic.

The dentine is also affected : the dental cavity develops and then attacks the dentine. This could result in a sensitivity to hot and cold, but many people don’t feel any pain. In most cases, a cavity at this stage can be repaired with a filling.

The dental pulp is affected : a cavity affecting the dental pulp is likely to cause severe pain, which can quickly become unbearable! The tooth then needs to be cleaned from infection during a root canal treatment. If tooth decay hasn’t destroyed too much of the tooth’s natural structure, the dentist will be able to restore the tooth with a filling. If damage is too widespread, the tooth may need to be extracted and replaced.

Infection spreads : when tooth decay affects the dental pulp and is left untreated, infection can spread and, in some ways, kill the nerve of the tooth. The nerve is then likely to become necrotic, allowing the infection to affect the root of the tooth. A dental abscess may then form, i.e. an infection at an advanced stage that needs be treated with antibiotics.

Advice from our team

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