Are Fillings for Cavities Necessary?
Have you ever been told by a dentist that you have a cavity? Have been told by that same dentist that you need a dental filling? Have you ever wondered if they were actually telling you the truth?
Well, the truth is if you showed the cavity in question to a number of different dentists, some of them will diagnose the situation differently than others. So, when you see a little niche on your x-ray residing in the enamel, but it’s not through the enamel, some dentists will say, “Well, this is decalcification and it needs to be filled.”
The way I was taught and what I believe in and what I’ve seen over the 38 years I’ve been practicing dentistry is if the niche in question in the x-ray does not look like it’s going through the enamel and it’s simply decalcification, then there’s potential for this little niche in your tooth to last for a long, long time remaining exactly the way it currently is. If you decide to go this route, be sure to floss regularly, use a fluoridated toothpaste and also remember to schedule a check up every 6 months or so to keep an eye on this cavity situation.
Another dental filling situation for you to get potentially taken advantage of by a less than honest dentist is to have the dentist diagnose a stain on the biting surface of the tooth as a cavity. Beware, if this happens to you. If your dentist cannot get his dental probe stuck in the supposed cavity, and you don’t see a shadow developing underneath the enamel of the tooth, the odds are pretty good that it’s exactly what it was the day the tooth came in your head, and you simply leave it alone.
Now, if the little niche is through the tooth’s enamel and because the Dentin in your teeth is only about a third of the hardness of the enamel, the cavity is going to spread out and it doesn’t much matter what you do because the recommended next step should always be a filling at this point. You simply have to plug that cavity.
