To Dentists only: What is the cheapest way to fill a cavity?

Question

I plan to provide dental treatments to very poor people in a developing country. They could not afford to go to a dentist. Is there a way to fill a cavity without drilling etc.? Please note that some treatment is better than no treatment at all.

I know that the dogma is to treat the infection, remove the decay, and then fill the cavity. Just curious if we could not do it in other ways. For example, if the cavity is small, after antibiotics, perhaps some kind of calcium compound can be placed inside the cavity.

Answer 1

We have a material that was designed to be used for "jungle type settings" its sticky, hardens quickly, works in a moist environement, and releases flouride. unfortunately the designers and chemists made it too good and the general dentist started using it, so much so, that they increased the price 20 fold. to make up for the losses from the drop in sales of their standard filling material. Sad isn't it.

It's called Fuji IX and its expensive. Since it is so cheap to make and produce, you may consider calling the manufactuer, tell them about your project, they may well donate some to you. But if you are going to a place without services, Definitely fuji IX is what you'd want to work with.

Answer 2

you cannot fill a cavity without drilling. If you do not get the decay out, you might as well leave the tooth alone. Placing a filling on top of the decay only makes matters worse. If they cannot afford to fill it, you might just need to have it extracted. You can try a sedative filling such as IRM but that is only a temporary solution. Your cheapest type of filling would be an amalgam filling, cost wise.

Answer 3

Extraction is usually the cheapest and best answer to major dental problems. No you can't place a perm. filling without drilling. The main goal in situations like this is to get rid of the source of infection which would be extraction. If you can't drill to get rid of the decay, then you can't get rid of the source of infection. Putting a filling in a badly decayed tooth would be ludicrous. I am curious what do you mean when you say "providing dental treatments"?

Answer 4

There is something called Alternative Restorative Treatment, whereby "soft" tooth structure is removed using hand instruments and then the tooth is filled often with a fluoride-releasing restorative material (often a glass ionomer compound). Here's an article from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry:
http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/P_ART.pdf

Answer 5

I always knew there was a reason I never liked dentists based on the above answers. I mean their history even before this brief interlude says it all. Come on DDS people, you can do better than this!

Answer 6

...Reese's Pieces....

Answer 7

there is no treatment at all

Answer 8

to do it ur self!..lol