Conservative Dentistry
What is conservative dentistry?
The word "Conservative" means different things to different people but as applied to the context of dentistry, it has been defined (admittedly loosely and somewhat arbitrarily) to mean placement of direct restorations (ie fillings) on teeth.
One might ask why this would be referred to as "conservative" and what we are "conserving" when this process is most commonly associated with the dental drill! The reason is that the objective of this process is to remove dental caries (tooth decay) and seal the cavity left by the bacteria so that the remaining part of the tooth will not decay further (ie. the remaining structure is "conserved"). Also, while the patient undergoing the process might not always think so, the objective is to remove as little of the sound tooth structure as possible.
Conservative dentistry begins where preventive dentistry ends. Preventive dentistry seeks to prevent dental disease from occurring but when tooth decay has already set in it dental restorations are necessary. Conservative dentistry itself can also be defined to end where the tooth needs significant restoration with a root canal treatment and/or a crown.
The word "Conservative" means different things to different people but as applied to the context of dentistry, it has been defined (admittedly loosely and somewhat arbitrarily) to mean placement of direct restorations (ie fillings) on teeth.
One might ask why this would be referred to as "conservative" and what we are "conserving" when this process is most commonly associated with the dental drill! The reason is that the objective of this process is to remove dental caries (tooth decay) and seal the cavity left by the bacteria so that the remaining part of the tooth will not decay further (ie. the remaining structure is "conserved"). Also, while the patient undergoing the process might not always think so, the objective is to remove as little of the sound tooth structure as possible.
Conservative dentistry begins where preventive dentistry ends. Preventive dentistry seeks to prevent dental disease from occurring but when tooth decay has already set in it dental restorations are necessary. Conservative dentistry itself can also be defined to end where the tooth needs significant restoration with a root canal treatment and/or a crown.
How do we decide whether a tooth needs root canal treatment or a filling will be enough?
I often get this question from patients with a deep (often long neglected) hole in the tooth :
I often get this question from patients with a deep (often long neglected) hole in the tooth :
Sensitivity after a restoration
There are a number of possible causes for this but the most common situation that gives rise to this problem is when a very deep restoration is placed. In such situations the nerve of the tooth is usually not very healthy already because of the effect of caries bacteria the the toxins they produce.
The restoration procedure itself causes some irritation to the nerve also and if the nerve is unhealthy to begin with, this can cause the nerve to become inflamed which usually causes sensitivity and/or pain. In such situations a root canal treatment will be required.
There are a number of possible causes for this but the most common situation that gives rise to this problem is when a very deep restoration is placed. In such situations the nerve of the tooth is usually not very healthy already because of the effect of caries bacteria the the toxins they produce.
The restoration procedure itself causes some irritation to the nerve also and if the nerve is unhealthy to begin with, this can cause the nerve to become inflamed which usually causes sensitivity and/or pain. In such situations a root canal treatment will be required.
