There are some things about Dentistry that I love and others ‘not so much’. One on my not thrilled to do list is replacing old fillings when the tooth is quiet. The last thing I want to do is create trouble for patients. When you fix an obvious problem for a patient, such as dealing with pain or improving aesthetics, the patient is grateful and can see/feel a resolution to their problem. But what happens when I see potential issues in the mouth but the patient doesn’t feel anything? An obvious example of that is replacing an old filling (eg. breaking down and may have a cavity underneath that I can’t see) that isn’t giving the patient any grief. I’m not fan of replacing old fillings on quiet teeth. Most often the tooth remains quiet after the restoration is replaced and all is well. Sometimes the tooth is sensitive afterwards. Every time we work on a tooth, we aggravate the nerve. Plain and simple. The techniques and materials we use are designed to minimize or eliminate the potential for this. But nothing is 100% effective, especially when a filling is deep. Knowing this, I always warn the patient about the possibility of sensitivity after the work is done or what’s at stake if we choose to wait and watch. Either way, I try to be as conservative as possible and try to give you the best advice I can.
– Dr. Jay Rabinovich