What should I do if my teeth are rotten?

Tooth decay is closely related to the lack of care in daily life. In particular, you must pay attention to brushing your teeth frequently in daily life to maintain oral health. If the teeth are already rotten, they must be treated by filling.

1. Tooth filling steps

Tooth filling includes two main steps: cavity preparation and filling.

2. Oral examination

Before filling a tooth, the dentist will conduct a comprehensive examination of the patient's oral cavity, fully understand and appropriately treat the patient's oral health status, and develop the best filling and restoration plan based on the number of caries, treatment site, and severity of caries in the patient.

3. The principles of cavity preparation are:

① Remove the diseased tissue completely, otherwise it will cause secondary caries;

② Protect the dental pulp and healthy tooth tissue;

③ Establish a good retention shape (i.e., a shape that can keep the filling in the cavity without falling off or loosening) and resistance shape (i.e., a shape that can withstand chewing force without breaking the filling or tooth) to prevent the filling from breaking, falling off, or not fitting tightly and causing secondary caries.

4. Cavity disinfection

When the cavity is prepared, it needs to be fully and thoroughly disinfected. Depending on the severity of caries lesions, the disinfection time for different caries varies greatly. If it is early caries, only a one-time disinfection is required to fill the filling material; if it is moderate or deep caries, three to five sealing treatments are required; and if the dental nerve is involved, root canal treatment is required first.

5. Filling

Isolate saliva, disinfect the cavity, prepare filling materials and fill them into the cavity, and sculpt the shape immediately. Be careful to remove the part that exceeds the occlusal surface to avoid iatrogenic occlusal trauma. There should be no overhang of fillings on the adjacent surfaces to avoid irritating the gums and causing inflammation.