Tooth decay is so common that more people suffer from tooth decay. In fact, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease. While there are certainly things you can do to prevent cavities, chances are you'll experience a cavity while taking proper care of your teeth. Steps of tooth filling Fortunately, getting a cavity isn't the end of the world and it doesn't hurt too much. Regular dental checkups can detect cavities early so they can be easily treated. In fact, many small to medium cavities can be effectively treated using composite fillings. Tooth-colored composite fillings are minimally invasive and can be placed in one dental appointment. That's why getting composite fillers is so easy! Below are the three steps required to place a composite filler. ### Step 1: Get comfortable Before any restorative dental treatment begins, our goal is to make your experience as positive as possible. A large part of this is about creating emotional and physical relaxation. For this reason, we offer the option of sedation and injection of dental anesthesia to relax you, keep you steady during the procedure and prevent you from experiencing anxiety. Nitrous oxide is the most common form of sedation used because it can be easily inhaled through a gas mask over the nose, keeps you awake but relaxed, and wears off immediately after the procedure. However, deeper levels of sedation are also available if needed. Once you are comfortable emotionally, we also need to make sure you are comfortable physically during the procedure. For this, we use dental anesthetics to completely numb the damaged tooth and its surrounding area. Although a local anesthetic gel is used to reduce discomfort during the administration of the anesthetic, you may still feel a slight pain. This will be short-lived because the anesthetic quickly numbs the area. ### Step 2: Prepare the tooth Once your tooth is comfortable and numb, we begin preparing the tooth for the filling. This is done by using a dental drill to remove the decayed tissue and reshape the remaining cavity. While a dental sedator should keep you calm, using headphones to minimize the sound of the drill may also be helpful. You can also tell yourself to expect pressure from the drill. Fortunately, the drill is only used for a few minutes during dental filling placement. Once the decayed tissue has been removed and the area formed, an acidic solution is placed inside the cavity. This acidic solution is used to roughen the natural surface of the tooth in order to create a strong bond between the tooth and the composite resin used for the filling. The solution is left in place for a short time, then the tooth is washed and dried. Since it is essential that the tooth is dry for the tooth to properly bond to the composite resin, your dentist may use dental floss, cotton, or suction to prevent saliva from entering the treatment area. ### Step 3: Place the filling materials The final step of placing a composite filling is actually placing the filling material. When first applied, composite resin is a gel-like consistency. This allows the tooth to completely fill the cavity to protect against future tooth decay. As a result of this gel-like consistency, the composite resin is also layered so that it can be hardened in place as a single layer. In general, it takes about 1-2 minutes to cure each layer with a special light, and usually about 3 layers are used to fill the composite. The final layer is molded to mimic the surrounding tooth structure, then polished to resemble your natural tooth. The final result is almost invisible, tooth restoration and filling have little difference as we have said in previous articles. After the fillers are placed, the nitrous oxide mask is removed and you will be back to normal within a few minutes. Although your behavior may return to normal, your mouth will remain numb for approximately 1-2 hours after the procedure. During this time, you'll want to avoid eating and you'll need to control your fluid intake. Once you have some feeling in your mouth, you can return to your normal diet, however some may need to eat soft foods for the first few days until your tooth adjusts to the new filling.