Filling fell out of tooth?

Filling fell out of tooth and need some answers? Don’t worry, this is likely not an emergency!  Even though the hole may feel huge, a dentist can almost always repair it.  The most common cause of a filling falling out is decay.  We dental professionals miss these areas of decay sometimes because the filling blocks our view and hides the decay.

A filling that has fallen out will often look dark in the hole left behind. This may be decay or stain from an old metal amalgam filling.

If it is a front tooth, saving the filling may be helpful for your dentist.  So if you can find it, go ahead and bring it in.  For teeth in the back the filling is of no value.  You can just throw it away.  If it is metal, it has mercury and technically should be disposed of properly.  However, it’s such a small amount that it would not be worth your time and effort to find out how to dispose of it.  Your dentist has an amalgam filling disposal system, so bring it to them if you want.

Does your tooth hurt?

Filling fell out of tooth so how will your dentist fix the tooth?

Depending on the size of the filling, if there is decay that needs to be removed, if there are other fillings or cracks in the tooth, and several other less important factors, your dentist and you will decide whether to place a new larger filling or place a crown.  A larger filling can almost always be done BUT may not last very long if there isn’t much tooth left.  For any of the back teeth, by the time a tooth has gotten to a point that it is having a filling fall out, we are looking at placing a crown on the tooth.  For front teeth we are often just placing a larger filling.

What caused your filling to fall out?

Often there is pretty severe decay in the tooth that caused the filling to fall out.  Think of the tooth structure as the foundation under the filling.  That foundation literally rotted away, causing your filling to lose it’s support and fall out.  If that decay is bad enough you may need a root canal OR even worse need the tooth extracted.  Please do not let the fear of finding out deter you from a dental visit.  Things will only get worse.  This is because once the filling is out, food collects in the hole.  That trapped food feeds bacteria causing or accelerating decay, making the situation much worse.  This process can happens quickly, so don’t delay!!

Filling fell out of tooth and worried about the cost?

The cheapest it will ever be to fix it is right now.  The longer you wait the more likely it is that it will cost more money to repair the damage.  Since every case is variable, it’s impossible to give you a cost to repair your problem.  It can range from the dentists saying it’s fine and just smoothing the area, which may not cost anything, to needing to be extracted and having a dental implant placed.  However, I will share with you the costs to repair the most common instance of a filling falling out.

The most common situation is a filling in the back falls out and there is decay underneath it to the extent it needs a root canal.  A root canal, the build up, and dental crown will cost almost $3,000 in our office.  The dental codes for those three procedures are D0330, D2950, D2740 and with that information you can look up fair fees in your area with fair health consumer.

The second most common situation we see is a filling fell out of tooth and it only requires a new filling.  These tend to be large fillings and are therefore in the range of several hundred dollars to repair.  If that dollar amount is keeping you from coming in remember that if it gets too deep we are talking about $3,000 to repair it.  If you do nothing these teeth will usually last just a couple years before they break more or hurt so bad you are begging your dentist to remove it.  In other words, act NOW!