Posts & fillings
For a cavity, a chipped tooth or a failed filling, and for rebuilding a tooth after a root canal.
A filling takes the decay out of a tooth and rebuilds the missing part, usually in tooth-coloured composite, and doing it early is what stops a small cavity becoming a root canal. A post and core rebuilds a tooth that has already had one: a thin post anchored in the root holds a new core, and the crown is made over that.
Signs you might need a filling or post.
- A check-up or X-ray shows decay between two teeth, before you can feel anything.
- Cold or sweet things give one tooth a short, sharp twinge.
- An old silver filling has a crack around it, or you can feel a rough edge or a hole with your tongue.
- A root canal has left too little tooth above the gum to hold a crown by itself.
- A root-treated tooth has snapped off at the gum line and the root underneath is still sound.
A filling or post, step by step.
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01
Numbing
The tooth is frozen and tested before the drill starts. A tooth that has had a root canal has no nerve left, but the gum around it may still be numbed for comfort.
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02
Clearing the decay
Dr. Malik removes the softened part of the tooth and leaves the healthy part behind. How deep it goes depends on how long the cavity has been sitting there.
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03
Building the tooth back
Tooth-coloured composite is built up in layers, and each layer is set hard with a blue light. The shade is matched to the tooth beside it and shaped back to the grooves it had.
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04
A post, when the tooth needs one
For a root-treated tooth with little left above the gum, part of the root filling is removed and a thin post is cemented into the canal. A core is built up around it, and that becomes the base the crown is made on.
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05
Checking the bite
You bite on a strip of coloured paper so any high spot shows, and it is adjusted until the bite feels normal, then polished smooth. Some sensitivity to cold for a week or two after a filling is normal and should settle.
How we bill a filling or post.
A filling is usually one visit, and two or three small ones on the same side can often share an appointment. The bigger the filling, the more it costs, and most plans cover part of it. A post and core is priced apart from the crown on top, and plans usually cover it the way they cover the crown.
Ask us what it will costPosts & fillings, answered.
Does getting a filling hurt?
The area is numbed first, and most people feel pressure and water rather than pain. The freezing is the part people mind, so it goes in slowly, and we stop if you need a break.
How long does a filling last?
Composite fillings often last many years, but nothing in the mouth is permanent. Size, how hard you chew, grinding at night and how clean the edge stays all decide it, which is why fillings are checked at every visit.
Why does a tooth need a post after a root canal?
Not every one does. A post is used when so little tooth is left above the gum that a crown would have nothing to grip. It anchors the core in the root; it does not make the root itself any stronger.
What happens if I leave a small cavity alone?
It gets bigger, and it stays quiet until it reaches the nerve. A cavity caught early is a filling; the same tooth two years later can need a root canal and a crown.
