Dental Fillings (tooth-colored) For Teeth
What is a Dental Filling?
A dental filling is a restoration that is specifically used to fill in an area of one or more teeth that have become decayed. Dental decay, known as a cavity, can infiltrate a tooth and cause it to become weak. Over time, the decay essentially eats into the tooth to reach the inner pulp. Before the decay is allowed to get to this point, it's removed and replaced with a tooth-colored composite resin filling.
Laser Frenectomy – How Does It Work?
A soft tissue laser does not cut. Instead, it vaporizes tissue with light energy almost painlessly. In addition, the laser procedure causes almost no bleeding. Lasers sterilize at the touch and therefore cause less risk of infection. Healing is very quick—a laser stimulates bio-regeneration. The result is beautiful tissue and less chance of relapse.
Tongue Tie
What Does It Really Mean?
Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, is the restriction of tongue movement as a result of fusion or adherence of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. A tongue-tie is caused by a frenum that is abnormally short or attached too close to the tip of the tongue.
Normal tongue function is important for multiple reasons. Among the many benefits, normal tongue function allows a baby to latch adequately and breastfeed efficiently, promotes normal speech development, makes it possible for a child to self-cleanse the mouth during eating, supports adequate swallowing patterns, allows for proper growth and development, and makes fun little things like eating ice cream, kissing, or sticking your tongue out to catch snowflakes possible.
Challenges That Can Occur With A Tongue-Tie
- Inability to open mouth widely, affecting speech and eating habits
- Inability to speak clearly when talking fast/loud/soft
- Clicking jaws
- Pain in jaws
- Protrusion of the lower jaw (inferior prognathism)
- Effects on social situations such as kissing, licking ice cream
- Dental health complications such as a tendency toward inflamed gums and increased need for periodontal surgery
- In the elderly, difficulty in keeping a denture in place
Lip Tie
How Can A Lip-Tie Affect My Child?
A LIP-TIE OCCURS WHEN THE UPPER LIP REMAINS ATTACHED TO THE UPPER GUM. CHALLENGES THAT CAN OCCUR IN CHILDREN AND INFANTS WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE LIP-TIES INCLUDE:
- Pain with breastfeeding
- Inability to adequately flange the maxillary lip upward during breastfeeding, affecting an infant’s latch and ability to create a good seal
- Formation of a large gap between the maxillary central incisors, called a diastema
- Difficulties with brushing and flossing
- Increased risk of dental decay
- Repeated trauma to the maxillary frenum because it is so low and prominent
Why might a Dental Filling be needed?
If you ignore a cavity long enough, the tooth will require a full root canal. This can cause the tooth to become weakened over time. In order to essentially protect the tooth and get rid of the underlying decay, we recommend having a filling placed. Fillings are simple restorations that can be matched to the color of your existing smile.
Who is a candidate for Dental Fillings?
In many cases, you won't know you have a cavity until you come in for an exam. During the exam, we use a special instrument to look for dark areas or soft spots in a tooth. X-rays further help us in identifying these trouble areas. If you have a cavity, it's recommended that it be filled sooner rather than later.
What happens during the Dental Filling process?
We first numb the area of the mouth needing the filling. The decay is removed from the tooth completely. The next step is to prep the tooth for the new composite filling. We do this by applying an etching gel into the small hole, washing it away and then packing the hole with resin. The resin is cured and hardened with a special dental light. We can place multiple fillings in the same area, and we recommend coming in for treatment as soon as it's found that you have a cavity.
If you think you might need a dental filling and want to know more about the procedure, call our office today and one of our friendly team members will be happy to help.
Art of Pediatric Dentistry specializes in high-quality dental fillings, catering to young patients in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Issaquah. Our expert team ensures a gentle, effective treatment process for maintaining your child's dental health.
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