When exactly should you get a dental filling replaced? The simple answer is when there’s a problem.
“Fillings generally need to be replaced if, radiographically, you see that there’s recurrent decay underneath the filling or the margins of the filling are leaking,” says Dr. Karen Harriman, a Falls Church dentist.
Harriman says fillings that are fractured should be redone. “If it’s fractured, then bacteria can leak into the area that’s fractured and it’s no longer sealed and susceptible to decay,” she says.
While dentists find problematic fillings during checkups, Harriman says in general you’ll know you have a problem.
How? You’ll be sensitive to cold or sweets, or things will feel different in your mouth.
“Sometimes your tongue might feel a chip in the dental filling, or the crack might feel something different, but generally what you might experience is some slight sensitivity to cold or sweets,” she says.
Harriman says it’s important not to skip those six-month checkups because mouth problems are often silent.
“What happens in your mouth happens in your whole body. The bacteria that is in your mouth travels into your blood vessels and affects your heart and your brain and affects babies’ birth weights, so it’s very important that you do keep up with your oral health.”
Feature image Viacheslav Iakobchuk / stock.adobe.com
This story originally ran in our November issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
