At some point in ours lives, most of us wind up with a cavity. In most cases, a cavity calls for your dentist to remove the decay and to fill in the tooth area that was removed.

There have been a number of advances in the field over the past few years. Composite resin dental fillings were created as an alternative to traditional metal dental fillings. They are colored to look like a natural tooth and are made of a plastic dental resin. This resin is strong, durable and makes for a very natural looking smile.

If you have a cavity in a tooth, broken fillings, mercury fillings, or amalgam fillings, composite resin fillings are well worth discussing with your dentist. Mercury fillings or amalgam fillings can easily be removed and replaced with the far more attractive composite fillings. Composite fillings actually strengthen your tooth beyond the level it had with the amalgam fillings.

The composite resin fillings bonds to further support the remaining tooth structure, which helps prevent breakage and damage to your tooth. These resin fillings last about six to twelve years or more, and the procedure usually takes just one visit to your dentist. There is very little sensitivity to hot or cold items often experienced with amalgam fillings. And, your dentist won't need to drill away as much of the tooth structure as with amalgam fillings.

You and your dentist may determine that you need a tooth extraction for any one of a number of reasons. Some teeth are extracted because they are severely decayed, others may have advanced periodontal disease ("gum disease"), or else have broken in a fashion which cannot be repaired. Other teeth may need removal because they are poorly positioned in the mouth (such as impacted wisdom teeth), or else in preparation for orthodontic treatment ("braces").

Your dentist will need to examine your mouth and teeth before a determination can be made that a tooth extraction is warranted. As a part of this examination a x-ray will be taken of the tooth in question. This x-ray will allow your dentist to evaluate both the internal aspects of the tooth as well as the tooth's root portion and the bone that encases it.

To perform the tooth extraction, your dentist will advise you of what post extraction regiment to follow. In most cases, a small amount of bleeding is normal.

Avoid anything that might prevent normal healing. It is usually best not to smoke or rinse your mouth vigorously, or drink through a straw for 24 hours. These activities could dislodge the clot and delay healing.

For the first few days, if you must rinse, rinse your mouth gently. For pain or swelling, apply a cold cloth or an ice bag.  Ask your dentist about pain medication. You can brush and floss the other teeth as usual. But don't clean the teeth next to the tooth socket.

When having an extraction, today's modern procedures and follow up care as recommended by your dentist are there to provide you, the patient, great benefit and comfort.

Underneath your tooth's outer enamel and within the dentin is an area of soft tissue called the pulp, which carries the tooth's nerves, veins, arteries and lymph vessels. Root canals are very small, thin divisions that branch off from the top pulp chamber down to the tip of the root. A tooth has at least one but no more than four root canals.

When the pulp becomes infected due to a deep cavity or fracture that allows bacteria to seep in, or injury due to trauma, it can die. Damaged or dead pulp causes increased blood flow and cellular activity, and pressure cannot be relieved from inside the tooth. Pain in the tooth is commonly felt when biting down, chewing on it and applying hot or cold foods and drinks.

A root canal is a procedure done to save the damaged or dead pulp in the root canal of the tooth by cleaning out the diseased pulp and reshaping the canal. The canal is filled with gutta percha, a rubberlike material, to prevent re-contamination of the tooth. The tooth is then permanently sealed with possibly a post and/or a gold or porcelain crown. This enables patients to keep the original tooth.

Root canal treatments usually involve one to three appointments.