What should I do if my tooth has a cavity

The incidence of dental caries is very high and its distribution is very wide. As the most common oral disease, it is also the most common disease in the world. The World Health Organization has officially listed dental caries as one of the three major preventable diseases in humans. If a tooth has a cavity, it needs to be filled immediately. Before filling a tooth, you should have a comprehensive oral examination. Only when all the conditions for filling a tooth are met can the tooth be filled. It is recommended that you go to a professional dental institution for filling a tooth.

1. Steps of tooth filling

1. Cavity preparation

Before filling a tooth, the carious tooth needs to be prepared and a cavity made. The cavity is composed of cavity walls, cavity edges, and cavity corners.

2. Filling materials

Isolate saliva, disinfect the cavity, prepare filling materials and fill them into the cavity, sculpt the shape, and pay attention to removing the part that exceeds the occlusal surface to avoid iatrogenic occlusal trauma. Selection of filling materials: Filling materials should be non-toxic, wear-resistant, have compressive strength, maintain volume after filling, fit tightly with the cavity, not be corroded or dissolved by saliva, be easy to operate and have beautiful color.

3. Remove residue

After filling the tooth with filling material, the dentist will polish the tooth surface and clean the residue attached to the tooth.

2. Daily methods to prevent tooth decay

1. Pay attention to daily oral hygiene, do not eat unclean food casually, and try to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with clean water after eating.

2. Regular teeth cleaning can not only whiten teeth, but also prevent oral diseases such as tooth decay.

3. Develop the habit of brushing your teeth correctly to inhibit dental plaque and effectively prevent and treat tooth decay.

4. Eat less food containing a lot of sugar and starch, and do not be picky about food in your daily diet.

3. Several foods to prevent tooth decay

1. Celery

The coarse fiber is like a broom, sweeping away some food residues on the teeth. In addition, the harder you chew, the more it stimulates the secretion of saliva, balancing the acidity and alkalinity in the mouth and achieving a natural antibacterial effect.

2. Onion

The sulfur compounds in onions are powerful antibacterial ingredients that can kill bacteria including Streptococcus mutans that cause tooth decay.

3. Green tea

Green tea has the effect of resisting acid and preventing tooth decay; the catechins in green tea can reduce the Streptococcus mutans that causes tooth decay in the mouth.

4. Things to note after filling a tooth

1. Follow the doctor's advice and do not chew food or hard objects with the newly filled teeth. After a tooth is filled, you should generally chew food on the affected side on the 2nd or 3rd day to prevent the tooth from breaking and the filling from falling off.

2. If you experience slight pain after filling a tooth, you can observe yourself first. Some slight discomfort and pain may disappear on their own. If the pain does not ease but worsens, or if biting pain, throbbing pain, pain from hot or cold stimulation, or spontaneous pain at night occurs, you should go to the hospital for follow-up examination and treatment in time to find out the cause and eliminate the pain.

3. Go for follow-up consultation promptly at the time agreed upon by the doctor. Do not eat food that is too cold or too hot. It's okay to brush your teeth, just don't brush too fast.