A lot of the folks in the boomer age group, all 78 million of them, have old dentistry that has worn out. If you have dental work that is fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years old, you are going to need to have more work done. Don’t kid yourself into thinking it won’t happen to you. It happens to everyone. It is just a matter of time. Old dark, stained or worn fillings will need replacement. The larger and older the restorations, the more critical it is to be proactive in replacement. Leaving failing dentistry in place threatens the health of the teeth by increasing the likelihood of decay or infection into the nerve within the tooth.
So, how do you know if you’ve fallen victim to aging dentistry?
It starts with teeth becoming sensitive, stained, darker or worn. Often the teeth will have gum recession, causing teeth to look longer. Sometimes the old amalgam fillings are expanding silently, pulling away from the tooth structure, causing bacteria to leak into the teeth. Often, old fillings’ expansion will break teeth and needlessly cause pain and an increase in treatment needed, requiring a root canal or extraction. Much of this could be avoided by replacing worn out restorations before this happens to you. Doesn’t it make sense to prevent pain and increased dental expenses? You should check with your dentist to see when the right time is to replace old dentistry.
As you get older, you’re going to have to get new work done to restore the work done years ago to help you preserve your teeth. if you don’t, you could lose your teeth and the advantages of keeping them.
