Exercise your choppers

Earlier this week one of my front teeth started to hurt. Some time ago I had had a similar pain just before one of my teeth cracked. As much as I dislike the dentist I do believe in the "Ounce of prevention" adage. Because of some issues my wife an I have had with our dentist we had both decided we no longer wished to utilize him. I made a few calls and found a new dentist to try. The good news is that the tooth in question is perfectly fine. The bad news is I have 6 cavities, 5 of which are on my left side. To make matters worse the majority of these cavities are below or around fillings that were put in within the last 1 to 2 years. What does this mean? It means that the fillings will have to first be drilled out and then the cavity to can be drilled. My first thought was of course why do I have cavities underneath a filling? Did the dentist leave something behind? There are no cavities on the side of the tooth. No the dentist did not leave part of the cavity behind but the real explanation was much more fascinating and disturbing. My previous dentist had chosen to use a resin for the fillings in my molars. Resin is more aesthetically pleasing being a tooth colored material, however here is a not so fun fact. Resin is often a poor choice for molar fillings because it cracks under medium loads. These cracks are not visible as the material shifts together, but they allow bacteria to travel through the crack and down to the tooth below. Additionally as resins age they prone to shrinking and micro leakage. Resin has a much shorter lifespan and often leads to a root canal if cavity below the filling is not caught quickly. I distinctly remember my last dentist telling me how strong and durable the filings were and how they would last a very long time. Now I am faced with the fact that he was wrong, either by ignorance or deception, the result is the same and I bear the burden. I don't know that I am skilled enough to paint my feelings in words here. Now I am faced with the fact of a large amount of dental work and a mouth full of metal once again. I have never been fond of dentists (but I do go). As a child the majority of my baby teeth were filled or complete capped with that shiny silver amalgam. I should be thankful at least that due to the location the fillings will be less noticeable. I am trying to look forward and do what needs to be done, but I must admit the anxiety is hard to control.