To ask for reassurance about my first filling today

[fillingbilling]

I'm 30 and never had a filling.

At my routine check up in October dentist said things looked really good but on X-rays there was a tiny little area which could do with a filling. It was phrased something like 'it doesn't necessarily need doing now but if we do it now it will stop it progressing to something worse where it's painful and needs a root canal'.

So I'm booked in for this afternoon but
a) terrified of needles
b) have heard of lots to stories of fillings falling out and being a hassle

So please tell me mumsnet, should I get the filling?

(Am getting the filling but nervous)

I had a couple of fillings recently (like yours, small but would have obviously grown bigger). It really wasn't that bad at all - much better than the old days! It takes a while with all the different steps, but it didn't hurt, just a lot of trying to keep my mouth open wide enough . If you've got a good dentist, it should be fine.

Hi OP! I've got a filling or two, the needle issue was my biggest scare too!

Tbh I just closed my eyes so I didn't see the needle, and had something soft to squeeze ready for the injection. It does feel like a sharp scratch, but I'd say comparable to if you accidentally scratch your gum with something crispy when eating. It worked really quickly and I was numb super fast. The actual filling itself was fine, the drills can sound a bit strange, so I wore headphones and listened to music. If it's just a small surface filling it'll be over super quick, and you'll be fine to go about normal life when the anaesthetic wears off!

Fillings only tend to fall out if they're large fillings in big teeth from what the dentist told me (also my worry!) so a small filling will be very unlikely 😊

Yes you should get the filling. It will be fine OP.
Good luck!

None of my fillings have ever fallen out (I have a few small ones in my back teeth) and I've actually had one filling without any anaesthetic, which was completely painless (it was a small filling that didn't go very deep into the tooth, so all I felt was vibrations). Being realistic, the anaesthetic injections are the worst bit, however they're over fast and it would be better to have preventative work done now than need lots more work doing in the future.

You can ask them to use a numbing gel before the needle. It helps.

I had a filling a couple of weeks ago.

I closed my eyes for the injection - it stung a little bit but that was it. Then the work was done completely pain free.

The worst bit was the numb / droopy lip afterwards which I bit and ended up with an ulcer !

Thanks everyone.

I was a child I the 80s when dentists seemed to fill all the time , I have not had any fillings for the last 30 years and my childhood ones are still going strong (I’m 45.) if there is a possibility of a cavity getting bigger I would have it dealt with while it is still small .