its there, its not there

kRUUKKKkkk!!!!

hmmm why does this nasik feels like batu??
whhooppss.. its my tooth filling!!!
#@@***@@##!
i just did that filling about a week ago!!!!!!!

*sigh*

trust me, its a dentist's worst nightmare.. having to face your patient again after you've just filled his teeth just one week before. worse still, now he's complaining of pain that has not been there before..

and now i feel obliged to explain how can a filling become loose. it might because of one or multiple reasons. but first and foremost, please dont come banging on the clinic's counter... at least go inside and let your dentist have a look at the tooth and explain to you, okay.. we are also human, we really dont like to let our patient feels dissatisfied, really we dont,.. so satisfy yourself by hearing our explanation.

so my preaching today would be aptly titled-
why does and how can tooth filling become loose/fallen:

1. the filling has probably become too large for the tooth to handle. the tooth will be unable to withhold the filling, the tooth structure becomes weak, and after slight pressure onto the tooth while we are eating, the filling become loose. there are cases in which the remaining tooth structure is fractured. the solution: crowning. for this type of problem dentist will always suggest crowning for that tooth. just like our socks will cover our feet, the crown will cover the whole tooth structure so the tooth will become stronger and able to withheld great pressure (i.e chewing/biting).

2. there might be a secondary infection/caries underneath the old filling. tooth filling is bonded to a cleaned surface, but when the area become infected it will become soft, causing the filling to dislodge. this will usually accompanied by pain because the infection will further deepen the previously restored tooth. your dentist will have to remove the old filling, scoop out the infection until no more is left and refill the tooth. when needed some type of medication will be placed so that the floor of the filling is stronger and void of further infection.

3. our material is very sensitive to moisture. if ever our saliva is mixed with the material, the material itself will become weak. so please avoid putting your tongue whilst having your tooth filled, okay. that's the need of the suction, and some dentists resort to using rubber dams (rubber sheet placed over your mouth to prevent any water/saliva into entering the tooth preparation, but some people claim its really uncomfortable). but contrary to popular believe that expensive material will bond better, well, it wont. the price of material depends more on the polishability/cosmetic/colour/strength, not how they bond to tooth surface.

4. there is one condition called abrasion cavity, this is caused by usage of hard or medium-bristled toothbrush that is just too harsh for tooth surface. the cavity is triangular shaped, situated at the neck of your tooth near the gum, and it will cause sensitivity. your dentist can fill it easy, with one really important condition: change your toothbrush!! your naturally hard enamel tooth surface itself cannot withstand the harsh effect of hard/medium-bristled toothbrush, let alone tooth fillings. preferably change it into a supersoft/extrasoft-bristled toothbrush. you might have to change your toothbrush more frequently, but i supposed that is so much better than to have your teeth filled repeatedly!



5. erm... you might accidentally bite on a really hard thing i.e small stone or chicken bone that may have caused the filling to break. i encountered one patient with his whole, unfilled, healthy back tooth split straight into two after he indulged in his favourite snack during a man u game: kacang cap tangan. i assure you the pain is terrible, i really feel sorry for him. i had to extract his tooth, there was no other choice. :( . anyway, if a healthy tooth can break, so can filled tooth..

mmm.. i'm pretty sure your eyelid will become heavy if i continue droning on this subject. so that's it. the important ones, that is. there are more to these, of course, but they are less important and less frequently happen.

if ever your tooth filling become loose after only a few weeks having it filled, please visit your dentist a.s.a.p. its never good to leave your tooth unfilled, because it may lead to more problem. and as a normal practice, dentist will usually charge you nothing if you come back (to the same dentist) within 30 days to redo the less than a month old filling.
its free! so why delay??