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Is your filling feeling a little loose? Ignoring the problem can lead to pain and oral health issues. Fortunately, your dentist in South Pasadena, CA, Dr. John Chu, offers emergency dentistry services and can treat loose fillings promptly.

Why you shouldn't wait to take care of a loose filling

Fillings can eventually become a little loose if you've had them a long time. Other causes of loose fillings include grinding your teeth while you sleep, tooth trauma, and using your teeth to open bottles or packages.

Have you recently been experiencing tooth sensitivity when you eat and drink cold or hot drinks and foods? The problem may be related to a loose filling. Fortunately, removing your filling and replacing it with a new one will end your pain.

Pain isn't the only concern if you have a loose filling. When a filling is loose, new areas of tooth decay can develop around it. If this happens, you'll need an even larger filling to restore your tooth. An abscess, a bacterial infection that infects the soft pulp in the center of your tooth, could also occur if the decay becomes widespread. Abscesses can cause severe pain and require emergency treatment to prevent the infection from spreading.

How to tell if your filling is loose?

You may feel your filling move a little when you chew or pass your tongue over the tooth. Pain when chewing may be another sign of a filling problem. Loose fillings can also make the surface of your tooth feel a little different or cause a discoloration in your tooth.

What happens if you have a loose filling?

You'll need to replace your restoration as soon as possible if your filling is loose. Luckily, filling replacement is one of the emergency dentistry treatments you can receive at the South Pasadena, CA, dental office. Once your new filling is in place, your pain will end. If your loose filling is caused by grinding your teeth at night, your dentist may recommend that you wear a nightguard while you sleep. The appliance will protect your teeth from damage that can loosen your new filling.

Do you need to make an emergency dentistry appointment? Call your South Pasadena, CA, dentist, Dr. Chu, at (626) 799-0852 to schedule your visit.