In this article, we have prepared some information about why the tooth filling may fall out. Let’s go over these in order. Sometimes when we go to the dentist because of a caries, they usually use the filling method to treat the caries. The dental fillings we have made can sometimes fall out due to the hard foods that the person eats or as a result of wear. The saliva that is secreted causes the tooth filling to fall. That is, saliva secretion can cause the material in the filling to deteriorate over time, thus not being able to hold on to the tooth and falling off with a small intervention.
What to Do When Tooth Filling Has Fallen
The thing to do when the tooth filling falls off, of course, is to consult a dentist. But there are things we can do until the date of our appointment. If we want to give some examples of these:
-To prevent a possible risk of infection by keeping my mouth as clean as possible.
– Chewing the food with the other area, not the mouth area where our filling falls.
How do we know when the filling has dropped?
If you have pain in your tooth for no reason, if you experience sensitivity to extremely hot or cold foods, if you notice cracks or indentations in the treated tooth, you may suspect that your filling has fallen. A falling filling will leave a gap in the mouth that you can definitely notice.
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How Long Should the Tooth Filling Be Replaced?
How long the dental filling can be replaced is related to many things, from the care of the mouth made by the person himself to the material used while filling the filling. If the filling is not very large and the person pays attention to oral hygiene, the filling can be used for years. For example
Fillings made as amalgam, namely black fillings, can last between 15-20 years.
While gold fillings last between 20-30 years, the durability period of composite fillings varies between 7 and 10 years.
Situations in which the Filling Needs to Be Changed
In case the filling displaces and falls, the filling must be changed: If you have not accidentally swallowed the filling, you will notice that the filling has fallen. The patient and physician can easily notice the dislocation of the situation.
Filling Breakage or Crack Formation: Fillings other than gold fillings may break or crack over time. A new carious filling from the bottom may cause the bottom of the filling to be unsupported and may create cracks and fractures. Fillings can break and crack over time, even without a new bruise.
Worn Out of the Filling Over Time: Fillings, like teeth, wear and tear over time. Sometimes these abrasions progress further and rot the teeth.
Caries Formation Near the Filling: The purpose of the filling is to protect the healthy tooth tissue. The decay that starts on another surface of the tooth can progress under the old filling and rot the healthy teeth and cause great damage. Since the fillings made of amalgam and gold cannot be repaired, the old filling is removed and a new filling is made.
Occurrence of Leakage at the Filling Edges: The fillings made have limited connections, that is, they cannot enter into a chemical reaction with the structure of the tooth. While there is a mechano-chemical connection in aesthetic composite fillings, there is a mechanical connection in gold and silver amalgam fillings. As time progresses over the years, these connections between the tooth and the filling may dissolve and wear away. Even if there is a cavity caused by bacteria in the mouth, this decay can leak through these gaps and progress under the filling and cause cavities.
How to Repair Fallen Fill?
The dentist we go to to have our teeth treated will of course examine our teeth with the best and most appropriate method and apply the appropriate treatment. For this, he first requests an x-ray and decides on the treatment to be applied according to the result. It can repair the tooth with a new filling. A root canal or crown can be treated or, as a last resort, if the tooth cannot be saved, the tooth is extracted.
