 Constant
pressure from chewing, grinding or clenching can cause dental
fillings, or restorations, to wear away, chip or crack.
Although you may not be able to tell that your filling is
wearing down, your dentist can identify weaknesses in your
restorations during a regular check-up.
If the seal between the tooth enamel and the restoration
breaks down, food particles and decay-causing bacteria can
work their way under the restoration. You then run the risk
of developing additional decay in that tooth. Decay that
is left untreated can progress to infect the dental pulp
and may cause an abscess.
If the restoration is large or the recurrent decay is
extensive, there may not be enough tooth structure remaining
to support a replacement filling. In these cases, your dentist
may need to replace the filling with a crown.
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