Service · Fillings
Composite, color-matched, no amalgam.
When a cavity reaches dentin and the kid is old enough to sit through the procedure, we fill. Twenty-five to forty minutes per tooth. Numbing is topical first, then a slow injection we narrate every step of.
When we fill
And when we watch and wait.
For a younger kid with a small cavity on a baby tooth that’s about to fall out, we may suggest watching the area for six months instead of drilling. The call depends on the tooth, the kid’s age, and the cavity-risk profile. We say why, in writing, on the visit summary.
Fill now
Cavity through enamel into dentin, permanent tooth, or baby tooth with 2+ years to go.
Watch six months
Cavity confined to enamel, low-risk kid, baby tooth about to exfoliate.
Refer out
Severe decay that needs sedation or a pediatric oral surgeon. We call ahead.
How the visit runs
Step by step.
Topical numbing gel
Tastes like bubblegum. Sits for two minutes. The injection that follows is much easier.
Slow, narrated injection
The hygienist tells the kid each step. We use a buffered anesthetic that’s less acidic and stings less.
Tooth prep
About ten minutes. We use a quieter electric handpiece for kids who get spooked by the whine.
Filling and cure
The composite is shaped and cured with a blue light. We check the bite with marking paper before you leave.
After
The first 24 hours.
Numbing wears off in two to three hours. Soft food the first day, no hot drinks until sensation returns, and a written aftercare sheet goes home with you. We hold one follow-up call slot a day — if anything feels off, call us. Most fillings settle in cleanly inside a week.
Numb lips and tongues are interesting to chew on. Tell your kid not to. Cheek-chewing is the most common post-filling call we get.
During the procedure
Quiet handpiece, steady hands.
We use a quieter electric handpiece because the high-pitched whine is the part most kids dread. Numbing is fully on board before any drilling starts — usually about five minutes after the injection. The whole filling sits between 25 and 40 minutes, depending on the tooth.