Fillings can help save your teeth! Although some might dread the experience of a dentist repairing the decay caused by a cavity, fillings are a modern marvel. Without fillings, we would be left to live through the pain of a dieing tooth as well as the eventual extraction of that tooth. Cavities begin with the decay of the hard mineralized outer layer of the tooth (enamel). Cavities progress as the decay reaches the more sensitive areas of the tooth (first the cementum then the dentin and finally the dental pulp). After the cavity has decayed to the dental pulp the tooth can and will eventually die. How fortunity we are to have a modern marvel in fillings, which will stop the ugly and painful progression of a cavity. Consider the following types and alternatives of fillings:
