Revealing photos show how a dentist treats a cavity, from slicing and drilling to building the tooth anew

Marianne GuenotJan 16, 2023, 16:14 IST

The tooth is shown before and after repair.Smile Influencers

Dentistry can save your teeth, but it's rare to see exactly how the process works.

Cavities are part of life — nine out of ten adults will have one at some point in their life and a quarter of all adults have an untreated cavity.

Getting cavities treated can be scary — but knowing more about the process can help. Sami Shahhal, a restorative dentist and owner of a dental-educational channel called Smile Influencers, walked Insider through the process.

This is a tooth with a broken filling. A cavity has developed on its side.

This tooth, seen through a mirror has a cavity. It's seen on the left side of the reflection above.Smile Influencers

First step is to remove the damaged filling.

The filling is removed with a burr.Smile Influencers

Then, he removes the infected tissue using a rounded drill.

The infected tissue is then removed with a drill.Smile Influencers

The tooth is shown here after the drilling.

Infected material is carefully removed with fine-tipped instruments.Smile Influencers

Once the tooth is clean, it's time to fill in the gap.

The blue liquid above is etchant.Smile Influencers

Then, a bonding agent is added to create a base to build the filling from.

Bonding agent is put on the tooth.Smile Influencers

The gap is then filled with resin.

Resin is poured into the newly created gap to replace the part of the tooth that was removed.Smile Influencers

Smoothing the filling will make it feel like a real tooth.

The dentist uses a drill to smooth out the surface of the new filling.Smile Influencers

This is what the tooth looks like after the repair.

This is what the tooth looks like after it's been fixed.Smile Influencers

If the cavity is under a crown, the crown has to go.

The tooth on the left is capped with a crown. There is a small access hole, which looks lighter than the rest of the tooth .Smile Influencers

To remove the crown, the dentist slices it in half and chips it off.

The crown is split in half with a drill for removal.Smile Influencers

Once the crown is removed, the tooth can be exposed.

A drill is used to remove the infected tissue from the tooth.Smile Influencers

Once the tooth is cleaned, the tooth can be restored.

Blue etchant is put on the tooth to create a porous surface on which the filling can bind.Smile Influencers

While a new crown is made, a temporary crown is shaped.

Acrylic gel is poured over a moulding of the tooth to create a temporary crown.Smile Influencers

This is how the tooth looks after it is treated.