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What You Should Do If You Lose A Filling

It is extremely unusual to lose a dental filling. However, it can happen. If you or your child loses a dental filling, you should see your family dentist right away. Here is what you should do until you can get in to see him/her.

Save the Filling

Your dentist can check the filling to see what went wrong and why it fell out. Since it clearly was never meant to do that, the dentist needs to find out why it did. Examining the filing and the tooth itself will give the dentist some clues. Then he or she can make sure that the new filling is firmly in place so you (or your child) do not suffer a repeat occurrence with this filling.

Buy a Temporary Filler

If the filling fell out on a weekend, there is a good chance you will not be able to even talk to your family dentist until Monday. In the meantime, you have an exposed nerve, blood vessels, dental tissue, etc., that needs protection. Luckily, you can go to your nearest pharmacy and purchase a temporary filler. This will fill in the open space left by the missing filling and provide some protection for the tooth until Monday.

Chew on the Opposite Side of Your Mouth

Even with a temporary filler for this tooth, you need to bite and chew on the opposite side of your mouth. The temporary filler could get stuck on harder or chewier foods and come out, and then you would have to repeat the process with the temporary filler. Worse still, if you pull the temporary filler out by chewing on that side of your mouth, you could swallow it and leave your tooth exposed again.

Avoid Really Hot Drinks and Really Cold Foods

Really hot drinks could cause the temporary filler to disintegrate a little. Really cold foods, like ice cream, could hit the partially exposed nerve and cause intense pain. If you have to have either of these, drink hot drinks through a straw so that it bypasses the tooth and eat only soft serve ice cream so that it melts quickly and you can just as quickly swallow it to avoid pain and sensitivity.

Call Your Dentist First Thing Monday Morning

Clear your schedule on Monday. Call your dentist the minute his or her office opens, and tell the receptionist what happened. Such an incident is often viewed as an emergency, and your dentist will be able to use some flex time to squeeze you in to refill the tooth.


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