“Why does my dental filling keep coming off?”
My dental filling often keeps coming off and I don’t understand the reason. Why would this be happening?
9 Answers
If your filling keeps falling off, there are some possibilities. Not knowing where this filling is in your mouth, let's look at your eating habits: Do you bite into apples? Chew on hard foods Nuts? Ice? Sticky candy or food? Chewing on bones? Using your teeth like tools? If you broke your tooth and had it repaired, there may not be enough tooth structure to hold filling. Your tooth may have been decayed and there is not enough remaining structure to hold a filling. There may another solution for a more permanent restoration. Your dentist may have already informed you.
It depends on many reasons. Ask your dentist.
Fillings come off when either there is not enough tooth structure remaining to hold the filling in place, when the adhesives are weak or there is something off in the bite (occlusion).
The cavity preparation done by the dentist is not retentive and possibly shallow
I'm sorry this is happening to you! There could be a number of reasons.
1. In the case of a tooth colored composite restoration:
a. it may be that during the placement of the filling, saliva and/or blood entered the tooth thus not allowing the materials to bond with the tooth
b. there wasn't any retention made on the tooth to help it stick and stay in or
c. the materials used by the dentists have exceeded their shelf life and so there can be no bonding to hold the filling in.
2. If this is an amalgam filling :
a. once again, retention here is key. When placing an amalgam restoration, you literally have to create retention by drilling out more tooth in a way that the filling can stay put or,
b. The filling was too big to adequately restore the tooth in which case you will need a different restoration ie. full crown, etc.
1. In the case of a tooth colored composite restoration:
a. it may be that during the placement of the filling, saliva and/or blood entered the tooth thus not allowing the materials to bond with the tooth
b. there wasn't any retention made on the tooth to help it stick and stay in or
c. the materials used by the dentists have exceeded their shelf life and so there can be no bonding to hold the filling in.
2. If this is an amalgam filling :
a. once again, retention here is key. When placing an amalgam restoration, you literally have to create retention by drilling out more tooth in a way that the filling can stay put or,
b. The filling was too big to adequately restore the tooth in which case you will need a different restoration ie. full crown, etc.
Fillings, if done correctly should not come out for many years.
It is possible the wrong type of restoration was selected to adequately cover the affected area of the tooth. There are different types of bonding and cement that are recommended by manufacturers that will give additional retention. Unfortunately, this should not be a trial and error situation, but one of intelligent good choice considering that you're not chewing gum excessively if cement has been used. If the tooth has been bonded, then a micro chemical bond may be reacting to the stress on the individual tooth and should be checked by a different dentist
It sounds like you are talking about an anterior or front tooth. Remember that the filling material is bonded to the tooth, but it makes a huge difference how big the filling is. A lot of times, if it is too small, it comes off easily, and if it is too big, it becomes "top heavy." Also, you need to make sure that when it is placed, your bite has been adjusted to make sure you are not hitting the new filling first. Sometimes, the tooth needs a more permanent procedure, as in a veneer or a crown.
Depends where this filling is, but if the bite is correct, it is an improper technique. They should hold.
