I have a very very small cavity in my second last molar (bottom left side) that was first filled with a white filling by my usual dentist in Johannesburg. He has done this twice now as it always comes out after about 20 months (he told me this would happen).
Today I went to have it done again by another dentist (in Cape Town) and he has practically covered the whole tooth whereas the first dentist just filled in the little dot of the cavity. I am a bit nervous of this as I don’t think it was done properly.
Can a white filling be put over a larger area of the tooth or should it just fill the cavity?
Kind regards,
Sandra in South Africa
Sandra,
It’s hard to tell without seeing your tooth, but maybe we can be a little helpful.
First, if a white filling comes out, it probably wasn’t done properly. White fillings should be bonded to the teeth, and therefore there shouldn’t be any tendency to come out.
As far as what the second dentist did, I am guessing that it was probably done properly. Often, when doing a small white filling, we will seal over a larger area of the tooth–filling in some of the deep grooves, to help keep them from later developing cavities. It’s possible that this is what was done. It’s also possible that the dentist made the filling too large–it’s hard to tell without seeing it. If your bite feels normal, though, it is probably okay.
Other information:
Cleveland cosmetic dentist