Dental restorations can fail and cause bigger problems

Here’s a blog entry I’m revisiting now because it is an issues many patients face.

When you go for a check-up with your dentist, you may be presented with the news that a crown or other such restoration in your mouth may be coming to an end of its service life. Yes, dental restorations do have a service life and it is very important to stay ahead of the game and not wait until a very serious complication arises.

A few preventative dollars today can save a much larger expense in the future.

It’s easy to spot a problem with one of the so-called “failing restoration”. The filling of a cavity might be loose or part of it missing and, of course the big one, pain. However, even if an older filling isn’t chipped or other obvious damage, your dentist can tell if it is at the point where it will allow food to be trapped despite diligent brushing and therefore can lead to gum disease. Much worse in the long run is that decay can begin beneath the restoration and lead to much more invasive restoration work.