How to Treat Dental Caries
Dental caries or tooth decay unfortunately afflict almost everyone at some point in their life. It is essential to treat any detected decay early to prevent serious damage or even loss of the tooth. Dental caries is reversible if it is detected soon enough by your dentist. Here is what to expect if you require the treatment of dental caries.
- Visit your dentist. He will be able to detect if the dental caries has not yet reached the inter portion of the tooth and is only on the enamel surface. In this case, the tooth surface can sometimes be polished to remove the decay and treated with topical fluoride. However, it is important to modify your oral hygiene routine to include regular brushing and flossing to prevent the build-up of plaque on the enamel surface. If you pay close attention to limiting sugars in your diet and perform regular cleanings no other treatments may be needed.
- Have an X-ray done on the afflicted tooth. This will show if the dental caries has advanced through the enamel into the dentin of a tooth. If this has happened, a filling will be required to eradicate the decay and stop the destruction to the tooth.
- Open wide and allow the dentist to do their work.
- The dentist will first numb the afflicted area with a numbing agent.
- They will remove the damaged tooth surface by using a dental drill or a laser.
- Any infected soft tissue will be removed, and the tooth will be repaired. If the treated tooth is a back tooth, an alloy of silver and other metals will be used as a filling to reconstruct the portion of the tooth which was removed. However, if the treated tooth is visible, a porcelain filling material is usually used for cosmetic reasons.
It the tooth has been badly damaged by the dental caries, further treatment in the form of a root canal treatment and a cap on the afflicted tooth may be required to treat the dental caries. If this is not considered viable, the tooth may require extraction.
It is essential to have any tooth damaged with dental caries repaired as soon as possible to preserve the strength of the tooth and prevent any damaging bacteria from entering the tooth's pulp.