Cavities caught early can now be treated chemically instead of an invasive filling. Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) has been used in Europe for many years and is now available in the United States. When applied to tooth decay SDF sterilizes the cavity and immediately hardens it against further decay. The cavity will turn darker so it is not indicated for esthetic areas.
Here is a case of a five year old boy who presented at his check up with a small cavity on the biting surface of one of his primary molars. The Diagnodent laser decay detector indicated an active cavity with a reading of 34 (anything above 30 usually needs a filling). The cavity was treated for one minute with SDF and he was seen a month later. You can see the cavity darkened some but is now reading much lower and a filling is not needed.
This next case is an early decay spotted between adult teeth on a check up x-ray. The SDF is being applied with Super Floss and then a fluoride varnish is applied to accentuate the effect. This approach has been shown to eliminate the need for a filling about eighty per cent of the time.
The Baltimore Center for Laser Dentistry is committed to using the least invasive treatments when managing your oral problems. Silver Diamine Fluoride is a non invasive treatment that can help preserve your teeth for a lifetime. For more information on our minimally invasive approach to treating decay visit our website.
