Conservative Treatments

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Conservative dental treatment is a treatment method that involves treating the cavities that form on the outer layers of the tooth such as enamel and dentin at an early stage and filling the resulting cavity with an artificial filling material. With conservative dental treatment, the patient's possible endodontics (root canal treatment) or tooth extraction is prevented.

Bacterial plaque, which consists of bacteria in the mouth, can form acids from the residues of sugary and floury foods left in the mouth. These acids dissolve the mineral tissue of the teeth, causing the tooth enamel to deteriorate and eventually the onset of tooth decay.

In choosing the type of dental filling to be applied to the patient, the area to be applied, the chewing forces effective in this area, the patient's aesthetic expectations and the amount of material loss are of great importance.

Factors Causing Tooth Decay

Excessive consumption of acidic and sugary foods. When the teeth are not brushed daily and regularly, the food residues left in the mouth increase the formation of an acidic environment and therefore the formation of decay. If there is a crookedness in the teeth, not allowing a brush or dental floss to enter between the teeth makes it easier for tooth decay to occur.

Saliva is a mouth fluid that protects teeth against decay due to the substances in its structure. In some systemic diseases such as diabetes and in people who breathe through the mouth at night, saliva decreases. Decay formation may increase in teeth that lack the washing properties of saliva.

Dental decay can occur on the chewing surface of the tooth, on the interfaces of the teeth where they touch each other, or in the neck areas of the teeth. Browning or cavities on visible surfaces are easy to detect. However, X-ray diagnosis is also necessary for decays that do not have these symptoms.

When decay that starts in the enamel tissue of the tooth is not treated, it progresses to the dentin tissue. Dentin is a structure that dissolves more easily than enamel, and therefore the progression of decay is rapid. In a decay that has reached the dentin tissue, the patient may have hot, cold, sour, or sweet sensitivity due to a factor. This pain passes when the factor is eliminated.

Conservative Dental Treatment

Conservative treatment in dentistry starts with the dentist's efforts to prevent decay, and extends to treating the decay before it progresses too much or cleaning the decay and repairing the lost tooth tissue.

The simplest conservative treatment is suggestions that will prevent the formation of decay. The most well-known and widespread is the repair of a decayed tooth with the help of filling materials.

Dental Filling Applications

For dental filling applications, the tooth tissue must be damaged due to reasons such as decay, abrasion, color and structure disorders, developmental, and trauma. The aim of the filling is to restore the lost aesthetics and function to the natural tooth.

Various materials are used for dental filling applications. The filling materials used today are amalgam, composite materials, and porcelain. Today, the use of amalgam - silver-containing and silver-colored - fillings is decreasing, while the use of composite and porcelain fillings in the color of natural teeth is increasing.

Filling Types

Amalgan Fillings:

It has been the most preferred filling material for years due to its durability and economy. Today, the increasing aesthetic demands of dental patients, rumors about the effects of mercury contained in amalgam on human health, and developments in adhesive systems (tooth-colored fillings) are gradually causing this material to be abandoned.

Composite Fillings:

They are tooth-colored restorations, especially preferred in cases where aesthetics are at the forefront. Due to their connection to the tooth, there is no need to remove material from the tooth to provide retention, as in amalgam fillings; simply removing the decay is sufficient.