Despite all the advances in dental technologies today there remains the common problem of losing dental fillings.  A person may be enjoying dinner only to find themselves biting down on something hard and loose in their mouth.  Then a sinking feeling sets in with the realization that an old filling has fallen out!  Whether you have only a little dental work or an entire mouthful no one wants to have a an old filling fall out.  This is somewhat an unavoidable situation. To understand why old fillings fall out it may be helpful to have a basic understanding of how and why a filling is used. 

A filling is called what it is because that is what it does.  A dentist will remove the decayed portion of the tooth and "fill" the area on the tooth. There is variety of materials that can be used.   This treats the cavity that has resulted from where the decayed material was on the tooth.  Cracked or broken teeth are also treated with fillings.  This also includes teeth that have been worn down from misuse.  This can happen as a result of many different unhealthy dental habits such as nail-biting, teeth-grinding or ice chewing.

There may be some short-term side effects from having a filling done.  The most common of these side effects is tooth sensitivity following placement of the filling.  This sensitivity may include having the tooth be sensitive to pressure, air, sweet foods, or temperature. This is usually just a short term situation and resolves on its own within a few weeks. While pain relievers are usually not required the patient should avoid those things that are causing the sensitivity. Any tooth sensitivity that does not resolve within 2-4 weeks or grows worse over time is an adequate reason to contact the dentist who orginally did the filling. Many dentist recommend using desensitizing toothpaste or applying a desensitizing agent to the tooth.  If this does not help the problem than the next course of treatment may be a root canal. 

Pain can occur around the filling.  The most common cause of the pain is failure to adjust the bite after the filling is done.  If the patient is experiencing pain when they bite the filling must be reshaped while on a return visit to the dentist.  If the pain occurs when the teeth touch it is most likely caused by the touching of two different metal surfaces.  For example this can happen between the silver amalgam in a newly filled tooth and a gold crown on a adjoining tooth.  In a short period of time this should resolve or a dentist should be consulted.

So why do old fillings fall out?  Excessive grinding or clenching of the teeth can cause extreme wear on dental fillings.  Even normal activity (biting and chewing) can cause fillings to wear away, chip or crack. Thankfully dental technology has progressed from the days of only pulling affected teeth.  But not very many years ago dental fillings were at best a somewhat primitive endeavor due to the lack of highly specialized tools available today.   In addition a lack of long-lasting materials, inferior workmanship and placement can cause old fillings to fall out. Many of today's patients having fillings redone had the original fillings put in when the materials and technique for filling teeth was not as long-lasting or advanced as it is today.   Sometimes it does occur that new fillings fall out as well this is usually a problem in the placement of the filling and the dentist should be re-consulted about this problem as quickly as possible.  This will help minimize any further damage to the already exposed tooth.