Listening to music is a great way to stay relaxed during a dental procedure. Choose music that soothes you or makes you feel good. Listening to your favorite song can also take your mind off of your procedure and make you feel more at ease.
While we can understand all of your reasons for feeling a little (or a lot) worried about having to come in for a dental filling to fix your tooth decay, our Saxonburg, PA team wants to be sure you remember something very important: There is, hands down, absolutely nothing to feel concerned about at all!
During a filling you are unlikely to feel a thing. A filling does not happen in areas of the tooth where there are nerves, so you shouldn't feel any more pain from the procedure than you would feel from cutting your hair.
Do cavity fillings hurt? Here's the short answer: No. Most fillings cause little to no discomfort during any part of the procedure. This is a result of using highly effective numbing agents.
Q: Is it painful to have cavity fillings? No. Your dentist will numb the area and use a numbing gel before injecting a local anesthetic known as Lidocaine. You may feel a bit of a sting, but that's a reaction from the local anesthetic when it starts to block the nerve signals to stop the pain.
Some people elect to not have numbing gels or anaesthetics when having a cavity filled, but does I hurt when you get a cavity filled without numbing? Well, the answer should be no. When having a filling, your dentist won't reach the dental pulp inside the tooth where nerve endings are, so no pain should be experienced.
Although most dentists do use needles to inject anesthetic, it's important to note that the injections are virtually painless. Needles are now much thinner, almost as thin as a piece of thread. This allows for painless injections and reduces the need to sedation.
Overall, the average time to complete a dental filling is about 20 minutes to an hour. However, the exact time it takes to get a dental filling can deviate based upon things like the type of filling, dental material, and the size of the decayed area.
Oral anxiety relieving (anxiolytic) medications (such as temazepam) are sometimes prescribed by dentists or doctors to help anxious patients relax. A short-acting, small, single dose is usually taken one hour before the dental appointment.
Your dentist will probably suggest options such as topical anesthetics to numb the affected area. Sedation dentistry is another option. Nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas, relaxes all but the most stressed patients, as can oral sedation, where the patient takes a small dose of an oral sedative.
Root canals are considered to be the most painful because they require removing the nerve tissue on a tooth's root. The removal of the nerve tissue is not only excruciatingly painful but also commonly leads to infection.
The Dental Filling Procedure
There's not too much you'll need to do to prepare for your appointment. Because the procedure is non-invasive, you don't need to fast. Also, go ahead and brush your teeth as you normally would. If you know you'll have anxiety, try to schedule your filling appointment for the morning hours.
A composite filling hardens immediately once a dentist puts a blue UV light on your tooth. You can generally eat when you leave your dental specialist's office. However, Rely Dental , BENBROOK recommends waiting for at least 2 hours before chewing on the filling if you're still numb.
Getting holes filled might require ten minutes to 1 hour per tooth, depending on the size of the cavity and its location. In some cases, you might even need two appointments with the dentist near you to fill the hole in your tooth, especially if tooth decay removal compromises the integrity of the tooth.
If you're trying to choose between the two options and wondering “which is more painful, a tooth extraction or a filling,” removing a tooth results in a longer period of discomfort compared to a filling procedure.
An irritated nerve is not uncommon when a deep filling is placed. Irritated nerves can result in inflammation and can cause pain. Your enamel and cementum usually protect the nerve from exposure, but deep fillings can reach the nerve endings and cause uncomfortable, sharp sensations.
If you are scheduled for a cavity filling, your dental professional will need to remove the tooth's damaged area before starting the procedure. Generally, they would use a drill, which may be painful for some people.
It is normal for your tooth to feel weird after a filling, but this weirdness usually goes away after a day or so when your mouth becomes adjusted to the new filling. If this feeling doesn't go away and you have pain, you need to see your dentist right away.
Usually, the tooth's outer layers — the enamel and cementum — protect the nerve from exposure. But fillings, especially deep ones, can get close to the nerve endings and cause irritation and uncomfortable sensations. As the nerve heals, the sensitivity will go away. This may take a few days or weeks.
Depending on the exact placement of the cavity, how big it is, how much it has progressed, what material the dentist uses to fill it, and the patient's dental health, filling the cavity can be done in 15 minutes, or it could take about an hour.
After receiving a filling, it's not uncommon to experience sensitivity in that tooth and the surrounding areas. It may feel like a sudden sharp pain or a cold sensation, and this sensitivity can last a few days, maybe even a week.
Yes, your dentist can put you to sleep during treatments. However, your dentist will begin looking at conscious sedation options first. Conscious sedation involves using medications to help you relax during a dental procedure. It's ideal for patients who feel anxious, nervous, or cannot sit still during dental visits.
How long will the procedure take? On average, a dental filling procedure shouldn't take longer than an hour. A simple filling can sometimes take as little as 20 minutes. Of course, the procedure time will vary depending on the number of fillings being placed in your mouth.
You should also plan on having some time to recover afterward: The area around the cavity is often numbed, and it takes a while for this numbness to wear off. This can make drinking, eating, and talking awkward. So schedule at least a few hours to have the procedure done, and for the anesthetic to wear off.