Old silver filling leaking??

[maddie]

I finally went in to have my teeth cleaned and evaluated. I was scared beyond belief, but all went well. The Dentist told me I had 3 cavities to fill,and suggested we redo my old fillings(5) one is leaking? what does this mean? I forgot to ask.Is the replacing of old fillings necessary or is it just more naturel looking? I don't want to do anymore work than I have to.
I go back in 2 weeks for Deep Cleaning(very anxious about that too) Any support on this subject would be appreciated. Also I am interested in bleaching ,any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Maddie

 

[letsconnect]

Hi Maddie, great to hear everything went well !! I know how much guts this must have taken you - so, fair play to you

With regards to your questions: the filling that is leaking should be replaced. Replacing old fillings "as a matter of course" would be for cosmetic reasons only. If you asked me, I'd say "don't". Unless there is actually something wrong with them. Each time you remove a filling and replace it, the tooth is exposed to a certain extent of trauma, so if you don't actually need the work done, it would be wise to leave it.

Bleaching can be done using various products, including a special bleaching tray that can be made in the dental office or whitening strips. Bleaching trays are worn overnight for a couple of weeks or thereabouts. Whitening strips can be bought over-the-counter, but prescription-strength ones (available at dentists) apparently work better. Bear in mind that the higher the strength (i. e. concentration of "bleach"), the more likely it is that you will experience sensitivity or even pain. So if you have sensitive teeth, it generally makes sense to use a lower concentration and bleach for a greater length of time (more weeks, that is, rather than for more hours a day).

There have been various threads on here about deep cleaning, use the search function!

Hope this helps, and again, WELL DONE

 

[Geraint]

Old fillings are usually replaced because there is new decay around or underneath them. You have a few fillings that need doing ask your dentist if they can just do them one at a time, at a pace that you feel comfortable with. - I have a fear of having lots of treatment done in one go and my dentist always lets me decide how much I can cope with. I always take a CD walkman with me with a relaxation CD if the dentist is going to be drilling my teeth I find the music drowns out the sound of the drill and being a relaxation CD helps me to relax.