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POH dental floss. Note how the floss separates into a lot of very fine threads. If a tooth filling flosses well with this type of floss, it will floss well with any floss!
So, you just had a tooth filling?
- Can you tell if it was done well?
- Can you tell if your dentist is concerned about the quality of his or her treatment?
- What should you expect to feel?
Was your tooth filling done well? This can be a very difficult question to answer! This article discusses some of the things patients should be aware of to evaluate if their filling was done as well as possible.
At this point, you are probably seeing the photos of floss and wondering, “What in the world does shredded floss have to do with the quality of a filling or tooth colored restoration.?” I am so happy you asked!
What should your dentist do to check for a high quality tooth filling?
In our office, tooth fillings are always tooth colored. We haven’t done a silver/mercury or amalgam filling since 1995! I realized that If I didn’t want silver fillings in my own mouth, why would I do it on others? Other blogs address the benefits of tooth colored fillings over silver fillings, so I won’t go into that here. Here are some of the things we do to make sure our fillings are done as well as possible:
- We make sure you are comfortable throughout the procedure. This helps us achieve better quality tooth fillings. When our patients are calm, we can focus on you and your filling!
- We use the highest quality filling materials and techniques to achieve the best result.
- We assure that the area is clean and dry before the filling is placed.
- We use special cleaning agents and medications to decrease tooth sensitivity and for a better, stronger bond to your tooth.
- We carefully shape your filling to restore the healthy tooth contours that should be present.
- We adjust your bite so that you tooth will be comfortable and strong when you chew.
- We polish the filling so that it will feel smooth to your tongue, and
- We always check tooth fillings with two types of dental floss.
Note the wonderful shredding of POH floss. If your tooth filling is not smooth we will know it!
Finally! The floss comes into play. The two flosses I like to use to test fillings are Glide and POH.
Glide floss is strong and a great way to tell if there is a solid contact present. Because it shreds so easily, POH floss is a wonderful way to see if the edges of the filling are smooth. If there is roughness present, we polish until the POH slides through without catching or ‘snagging’. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and we strive to do the highest quality dentistry possible. This is the type of dental treatment we would want completed on our own teeth! Please call our office if you have any questions or concerns (970) 242-3635.
Julie Gillis DDS
Restoring smiles/Restoring Health
