Does Cavity Fillings Hurt?

Guest Post by A.S. (Raleigh, NC)
(Dr. See’s patient)

“You have a cavity on your tooth. You’re going to have to come back to get this fixed soon.”  - Dr. See 

I was filled with dread when I heard those words during my routine dental cleaning appointment at Dr. See’s office. 

As a woman in her 40s, it’s embarrassing to admit that one of my biggest fears since childhood has been the thought of going through a scary painful dental procedure. 

Like fixing a tooth cavity. 

I’ve always taken good care of my teeth to avoid this possibility. I definitely did NOT want those ugly metal fillings that I’ve seen in my relatives whenever they got their cavities filled while growing-up. 

But no matter how disciplined I’ve been all these years, it still happened. I now have my first dental cavity and it’s going to need to be repaired.

I had a lot of questions zip through my mind once reality set in.

“Does this mean that now I’m going to have those embarrassing and ugly silver metal fillings in my teeth and won’t be able to smile?” 

“Will this take a long time, and do I need to notify my job to take time off?” “

“Can I still eat the foods I love?”

But the biggest question I had beneath it all that I was too embarrassed to ask was... 

“How bad will this hurt to get it fixed?”

Well, let me tell you the happy ending to this story in advance. Having my tooth cavity repaired was painless, quick, and the procedure wasn’t scary at all!  

During my cavity repair appointment, Dr. See and her staff were very friendly and caring. After having me sit on the dental chair, they took steps to make sure I was comfortable. 

They even offered me a wonderful neck pillow to help me feel more comfortable during my appointment (I definitely recommend saying yes because the neck pillow was fantastic!)  

I was very nervous because I am terrified of needles. And I’ve heard from friends and family that the dentist will have to give you a scary numbing shot directly into your gums and that it was very painful. I couldn’t help but look around wondering how big the needle was going to be.

But Dr. See is an expert at administering the oral shot.

Because I never even saw the needle! 

All I remember is Dr. See and I had a nice chat about my day. During our conversation, she began lightly pinching one side of my cheek (where my tooth cavity was).

I then remember smelling something pleasant and very sweet like candy and thinking it reminded me of my favorite jolly rancher. Dr. See kept softly pinching and shaking one side of my cheek, and told me to let her know when my lip began to feel numb. 

During the whole time, we kept talking about my day at work before I began to notice my mouth was indeed beginning to feel numb. When I told Dr. See, she said they were ready to begin.

I was shocked because I did not know when she administered the shot in my mouth! I felt NO pain and never even saw the needle in her hand.  

As for the cavity filling procedure itself.  All I can tell you is that it’s really no different than when you go in for a routine dental cleaning. 

I thought there would be painful pressure from the dentist using big scary tools to drill your teeth where you can feel your brain rattling in your skull (like in the movies). 

But the reality was, there were no scary tools and there was no pain or suffering. 

No painful pressure, no scary needles, and ZERO pain.

After what seemed like any other routine teeth cleaning, Dr. See asked me to bite down to see if anything felt weird or off.  And after correcting my bite to make sure everything was the same as before, I was done.

That’s it.  That was the whole procedure.

Best part is, the whole procedure from the time I walked in for my appointment till I left only took an hour. My appointment was at 2:00pm and I was back in my car by 3:00pm.   

And when I checked out my teeth in the mirror, you couldn’t even tell which tooth had the cavity.  Dr. See repaired my tooth to such perfection that it was impossible to tell that I ever had a cavity at all.  

And after it was all done, my smile was beautiful!  

The best part?

NO ugly metal fillings!  (Whoo-hoo!)

I’ve learned from Dr. See and her staff that she uses Biomimetic Dentistry methods to fix my cavity. It is considered a holistic approach to dentistry because there is no drilling involved like with traditional dentistry, and no cutting out parts of my tooth to make room for traditional metal fillings to fill in the gap. 

The biomimetic method is to preserve my natural teeth as much as possible, and Dr. See uses advanced dental biocomposite material to fill my cavity that looks exactly like the rest of my normal teeth.

It’s so natural looking it’s impossible to tell I had any type of filling or any dental work at all.

Now, if you’re anything like me and have been putting off going to the dentist because of your fears, let me reassure you that it’s not like the old days anymore.

Going to the dentist isn’t scary like in the movies.  And if you use Dr. See’s services, you will definitely not walk away from your appointment with your smile and teeth looking mismatched and ugly.

If you’ve been hesitant about getting your cavity fixed because your fears of going to the dentist, definitely check out Dr. See’s services and the amazing customer service of her staff.  She’s one of the few dental offices in the area where the minute you walk into her office, the way everyone treats you is like you’re family. 

If you have any questions or worries, Dr. See and her staff will take the time to walk you through any procedure step-by-step and will answer any questions you may have. My experience at this dental office has been so amazing, I promise you won’t regret your appointment!