This Is Why You Should Take Action Immediately If Your Dental Filling Falls Out
Dental fillings are designed to be sturdy, but if they're exposed to excessive force or become very old, it's possible for them to fall out. If you've noticed that part or all of a dental filling has fallen out, you need to get help from a dentist right away. Don't put this off! Here's why.
Exposed Inner Tooth
The first problem that your tooth is facing when it loses its dental filling is that the interior parts of the tooth become exposed. The filling was originally designed to fill in these areas and seal them off, protecting them from bacteria, food, and further decay.
Once the filling pops out, the interior structures of the tooth, like the dentin and pulp, may become exposed to the surface. This can restart the decay of your tooth, resulting in a larger cavity or the need for a root canal. You may also experience some significant pain if you don't take action soon, as the interior parts of teeth are filled with nerve endings.
Weakened Structure
Another problem with losing your filling is that the structure of your tooth just became weaker.
When a big chunk of your tooth is drilled out, the exterior walls of the tooth lose their support system. Without a filling, it's entirely possible for your tooth to simply break under the pressure of chewing and grinding. While the filling is in place, it acts as a support for the exterior walls of the tooth. Without it, though, you may incur significant damage to your tooth that could end up forcing you to get a new dental crown on top of your replacement filling.
What to Do
If you find yourself in this situation, you should immediately get in touch with an emergency dentist. This isn't something that you want to put off until your regular dentist's office is open and available for appointments. Waiting that long could put you at risk of the aforementioned damage, after all.
Your new emergency dentist will examine your tooth and will take the necessary action to replace the filling. If the tooth still has a partial filling, it will need to be removed first to put in a new one. If the entire filling came out, a thorough cleaning of the tooth followed by a new filling should be enough to restore it.
Alternatively, if your tooth has already experienced some of the mentioned damage, your emergency dentist can take care of that too.
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