Deep fillings

[ihatethedentist]

Hi,

Thankfully I haven't posted in here for a while. Since my last post (I've had lots of problems in the past with rude and abrupt dentists, which has now led to my fear) I have found a lovely new dentist, who I really like. (No tears in the last 2 visits which is a record for me) she really wants to work on my dental fear and make me more comfortable going.
Anyway I've just been for a polish, which was fine. She gave me a quick check up and said that everything looked great. ( beautiful in her words)
Then she said I was due an x ray since my last one was 3 years ago.. so I had that done and she said that there is a tooth on the back which has early decay, and it needs a deep filling, and another on a biting surface??
I've made an appointment which will take 45 minutes to fix.

Why do deep fillings take so long to fill? 45 minutes seems like a lot of time and I'm worrying I won't be able to sit there for that amount of time.

How long do deep fillings last for? It's on a back tooth so I'm guessing it's going to be amalgam, but I'm constantly worrying g about fillings fallng out and having to have my teeth pulled, which has happened in the past.

Finally a "biting surface filling" does that mean a front tooth?

Any help would be great,before I start panicking ?

 

[FearfulInMA]

First, welcome back!

Biting surface means the top of your tooth for bottom teeth or the bottom of your tooth for top teeth (I think this term is used only for molars).

My guess is that she has booked you for 45 minutes to make sure that she has enough time to make sure you are fully numb before she starts and also enough time to stop for breaks as you need them. My experience is that the actual filling of the tooth should take about half that time (or less) depending on her experience and skill. From your description, it sounds like maybe 2 fillings?

Fillings, if taken care of, should last many, many years. I have a mouth full of them - most of which I've had for about 8 years and I haven't lost a tooth yet. I have crowns on 4 of my teeth to protect them as they have large fillings and have also been RCT'd. I've also had to have some fillings redone as I am very prone to decay and sometimes get decay under and around my fillings. I think that the most important thing is to keep going to the dentist for checks so that she can fix any issues early (to avoid bigger problems).

Best of luck to you!