Pediatric Dental Fillings

At all three of our SmileTown: Just Kids Dentistry locations, our dentists can provide your children dental fillings for cavities or tooth decay. This guide will help you intake valuable and essential information about pediatric dental fillings, including when they may be necessary, the different types we offer and what to expect during their procedure.

What are Pediatric Dental Fillings?

Pediatric dental fillings is a material that sort of resembles Play-Doh. This is used to help restore the structure and function of a tooth that has a cavity and has been damaged by decay.

What’s the Importance of a Pediatric Dental FIlling?

The Play-Doh like dental filling helps prevent and preserve the remainder of the tooth and to help protect it from future decay or cavities.

Indications:

Pediatric dental fillings may be recommended to your child when a cavity or tooth decay has been detected during a dental examination. These are commonly detected by an x-ray to see the hard to reach places like between the teeth.

Types of Dental Fillings for Children:

There are various types of pediatric dental fillings. Each one has its own benefits that you can choose from. During your consultation with our dental anaesthesiologist, you and the doctor can go through the options to find the best fit for your child.

Composite Fillings:

This dental filling is resin resembling the same colour of the tooth. The composite filling can help blend seamlessly with the natural teeth. This option is suitable for visible areas like the front of the teeth.

Amalgam Fillings:

Silver-coloured amalgam fillings are more durable than the composite fillings. However the colour is silver and will not blend in as well with the natural colour of the tooth. This option will be good for the back of the teeth where no one can see them.

Glass Ionomer Fillings:

These fillings are fluoride releasing fillings. These are most common for small cavities that are in the primary (baby) teeth.

Stainless Steel Crowns:

For very extensive damage or decay to the tooth, a stainless steel crown will be used to cover the entire tooth to help provide long term protection. This may sound scary but they’re actually quite common within kids and we love to call them the transformer or princess teeth! For more information about stainless steel crowns click here.

What does the Pediatric Dental Filling Procedure Look Like?

Examination:

At SmileTown: Just Kids Dentistry, we specialize in general anaesthesia, if you decide to take this route for your child you will first have a consultation before the treatment. This will consist of X-rays and going through extensive medical history and an examination of your childs’ mouth.

Tooth Preparation:

On your childs’ treatment date, our dental anaesthesiologist will clean out the tooth decay or cavity to make sure there is no remaining decay that can spread. This is done with various tools that are catered towards pediatric patients. This leaves the tooth with a clean crevice to put in the filling to make it strong and normal again.

Pediatric Dental Filling Placement:

Once the tooth has been cleaned out, the filling will go into the clean crevice. The dental anaesthesiologist will then shape it to its natural contours of what the tooth used to look like. Right after, they will polish the filling to make sure it has a proper bite alignment and smooth surface to ensure comfortability for the child.

What is the Aftercare and Recover Process like?

Every child is different, but some children may experience temporary heightened sensitivity to hot or cold foods and drinks after the filling procedure. This is completely normal and will eventually return to normal.

It’s also vital that your child maintains their oral health. This includes brushing twice daily and flossing at least once a day. In addition they should be visiting the dentist twice a year for regular cleanings and checkups. This will help prevent the need for potentially needing another filling in the future.

To conclude, pediatric dental fillings are very safe for all children. It’s an effective treatment to fix cavities in children’s mouths. We hope that this guide helped you understand what to expect and the various types of fillings you can choose from.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s mouth, please don’t hesitate to reach out to SmileTown: Just Kid’s Dentistry at (519) 749-9981 or by submitting a form.