Dealing With A Cavity Temporarily
If you think that you have a cavity then the best thing for you to do is to get in and have the dentist give you an exam and treat the problem. There are several options available for fixing a cavity, depending on the situation such as the severity of the cavity, your budget, which tooth the cavity is on and so on. If you aren't able to get in to see the dentist right away for whatever reason, then you want to make sure you do what you can to lessen the chances of the cavity getting bigger or leading to other issues. Here are some of the things you want to do to prevent the cavity from getting worse and dealing with any issues that may arise from its existence:
Keep your mouth as clean as possible
The most important thing you want to do is to keep your mouth as clean as you possibly can. This may help you to slow down further growth of the cavity. You should brush an extra time during the day, perhaps after you eat lunch. However, you never want to brush right after eating because something you ate may have softened the enamel and this can make matters worse. Use a fluoridated mouthwash each night and don't drink even water right after using it so it really has a chance to work at killing those germs. If it is a good-sized cavity you can even swish 50% water and 50% peroxide around the tooth once a day.
Put as little pressure as possible on the tooth
The fact that a tooth has (or may have) a cavity can validate that it has softer enamel. For the time being, you want to put as little pressure on it as possible. If you are going to be eating something hard then you should do most of the chewing on the other side of your mouth. However, you can't do this for long or it can cause problems with your jaw and lead to headaches, as well as the uneven wear of the rest of your teeth.
Use an over the counter filling for the time being
Until you can get in to see the dentist, you can use an over the counter material that you can fill the filling with on your own. You do need to be aware that this doesn't stay in very long and it is not a way to self-treat the cavity. It is only for short term use until you can get into the dentist's office.
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