Fillings are often needed when a tooth has a small or moderate amount of decay, also called a cavity. Cavities are caused by a sticky substance called plaque. Plaque forms when we eat a lot of starches and sugars, but don’t brush them all off.
There are so many crevasses and angles to our teeth, brushing off every little bit of food residue is pretty hard to do! But then bacteria feeds on those starches and sugars, producing acids that erode your teeth, which create cavities.
Left unchecked, these cavity infections can bore deeper and deeper into the lower layers of your teeth. When cavities reach your dentin (the softer layer below our enamel), you might start feeling tooth sensitivity. This is because the dentin has tiny tubes that directly communicate with the nerves of the tooth.
Past the dentin, cavities can reach your pulp which is where the tooth’s nerves and blood vessels are.
