What do you think causes a cavity to make your tooth hurt, or become uncomfortably sensitive? You should know that a cavity is not always painful – in fact, you may not realize you have one at all when it first develops. The discomfort stems from when an infection reaches the center of your tooth, and causes problems with the living tissue in its pulp. Taking care of this problem means undergoing a root canal treatment. When a problem develops with a tooth’s nerves, a root canal is what it takes to restore it to good standing again. However, if you act in time, you can put a stop to a cavity before you are in need of this procedure.
A composite resin dental filling is the treatment method that can have the least impact on your tooth overall. The process involves your dentist removing infected material from your tooth, cleaning the tooth, and replacing the lost material with the filling. If the infection has gone as far as your pulp, this will not be sufficient. However, if the cavity is caught in an earlier stage, this restorative method can effectively eliminate the problem.
Even if a root canal is avoided, your tooth may need more than a filling. This is because at a certain point, the tooth needs more support than the filling can be expected to offer. When a filling is not enough, your dentist can restore your tooth with a dental crown. In addition to full crowns (crowns that cover the tooth entirely, down to the gum line), you can receive an inlay or an onlay. Your dentist can determine what sort of crown you need.