Amalgam Tooth Fillings in Fort Nelson

Fort Nelson residents, if you’re looking to ease the pain of a cavity, Northern Rockies Dental Clinic is accepting new patients! The friendly and experienced staff at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic have been treating cavities for years with amalgam tooth fillings. At Northern Rockies Dental Clinic, our mission is to ease any pain caused by your cavity. The staff at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic is here to answer any questions or concerns our Fort Nelson patients may have, giving you the information you need to go into each appointment with comfort and confidence.

The purpose of a dental filling is to restore function and strength to the missing part of the tooth. The missing structure often comes as a result of cavities caused by bacteria in the mouth  or external damage such as a blow to the lips or cheeks. Let’s take a closer look into what you should know before getting a amalgam filling or fillings.

What is a Dental Filling?

Most Fort Nelson residents find themselves in need of a filling as a result of tooth decay. In these cases, the staff at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic will clean the area, removing any signs of decay. The area would then be in need of a filling. Fillings can also be used to fix cracked, broken, or worn down teeth. Some reasons these teeth can become compromised are excess bacteria due to a patient’s lack of personal oral hygiene. Other reasons include sugars in our patients diets, particularly fructose and sucrose (table sugar), being turned into acids inside a person’s mouth by bacteria.

If left untreated, cavities and infections may lead to abscesses, pockets of pus and bacteria surrounding an infected tooth. Patients with abscesses will likely experience pain, bad breath, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and even tooth loss. Contact your dentist at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic immediately if you believe you may have an abscess. Treatment options may vary based on the severity of the abscess. If the abscess is noticed early on, you may only be prescribed an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory medication, and/or a painkiller. In more severe cases, however, your dentist may have to administer a dental filling or a root canal.

Types of Fillings Available

First off, when treating cavities the dentists at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic will inspect the tooth in question in order to classify the cavity. There are six different classifications that can be used to describe a case of tooth decay whether minor or severe. This helps us to more accurately compare the condition of the tooth to other cases to really get a look at how badly said tooth is decayed. The classifications depend on certain variables including the location of the cavity, which tooth the cavity is affecting, the rate of progression, and hard tissue being affected.

With the classification of the cavity taken care of, your dentist will then recommend a material for your filling to be made out of.  One option to consider is silver fillings, made up of an amalgam of half liquid mercury and the other half being a mixture of an alloy made of silver, tin, and copper. The advantages of amalgam fillings include their durability to last up to 15 years, their strength to handle the chewing forces inside the mouth and they’re less costly than cast gold fillings.

Stop in for an appointment at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic today for quality cavity care and filling treatments you can count on. Contact us over the phone at (250) 774-4484 or request an appointment online. Relieve yourself of the pain of cavities and abscesses today with help from the friendly staff at Northern Rockies Dental Clinic.