New filling just fell out - what do I do?

Question

I had a cavity filled on Tuesday (the 20th). I had already had a previous cavity in this tooth filled with amalgam, and my dentist removed this filling, removed the cavity, and replaced it with a composite filling. I noticed that this new filling has chipped and fallen out, leaving a large gap on the occusal surface of my first molar. The gap is dark in colour, leading me to beleive that there is still amalgam in the tooth (there is no way I developed massive decay in one day) where the composite was laid.

Obviously I am calling my dentist first thing tomorrow to schedule an emergency appointment, but is there anything I can do to protect my tooth in the meantime? Since discovering the hole I have been genty brushing it regularily, and using a needle-less syringe to flush it with fluoride-containing listerine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am getting my wisdom teeth out on friday, so this needs to be resolved before then.

THANKS!!

Answer 1

I am a former Dental Technician/Assistant, and you have impressed me with your technical jargon concerning your situation. I am not sure what to say to you, since you are knowledgeable on all this stuff, apparently. I would say that you should go to the drug store or grogery and get whatever temorary filling product they have available and apply it per instruction.

IF there is still amalgam present, I would bring this to the attention of the dentist, as this is not "quality" dentistry. Beyond that, I do not know the depth or severity of the cavity and cannot answer how it would affect your forthcoming extractions on Friday.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You are doing the right thing by keeping it clean and not leaving food particles in it. They have a material out that you can buy in the drug stores, but I would just get it fixed tomorrow. Especially with you having an appointment for the extraction on Friday. The dentist will want to take care of this first, not on the same day as surgery.

Occasionally the composite restorations fall out as yours has done, it's usually due to moisture contamination when it was placed. Maybe you remember if they had a hard time keeping your mouth dry, it's probably a lower molar tooth, if so that was the case. The dentist may have to put a little more undercut into the prep to help with retention. It doesn't sound like it was a large one since you didn't mention any pain. What your seeing is the amalgam in the tooth that has stained the dentin tubules, referred to as an "amalgam tattoo," it doesn't cause any problem as long as the decay was removed. Keep in mind that the prep area is going to look darker or more yellow because the enamel has been removed, so you are looking at the dentin in the tooth. Hope I've been of some help, just get it fixed tomorrow and it won't happen again. Take care!

Just wanted to wish you well with the wisdom teeth extractions today. Be sure to just take it easy and follow the dentist instructions and you'll do fine. Hope you got the restoration taken care of yesterday. Good luck with both!