Dr. Naomi will begin by determining that your child is a good candidate for SDF treatment. SDF is usually a good option for very young children or children with special needs as it helps to stabilize the cavity until the child is older and can receive treatment.
After your child is approved for SDF treatment, Dr. Naomi will clean the tooth or teeth to be treated, dry the teeth with air, and then apply the silver diamine fluoride. It will be left in place for about a minute and then rinsed away. It is as simple as that! No numbing or drilling needed.
SDF is not a permanent solution. For best results, we usually recommend coming back to the office for reapplication twice per year to keep the decay at bay. We can continue to maintain the tooth until it falls out naturally or your child is ready to receive a pediatric dental filling.
While some insurance policies are begging to cover silver diamine fluoride, many still do not. It is important to check with your provider to ensure you understand your dental insurance benefits and coverage before proceeding with treatment. Oftentimes, SDF can be a more cost-effective treatment than many other restorative procedures, so even if it is not covered by your dental insurance plan, it may be a good idea to invest in your child’s teeth upfront in order to avoid more costly procedures down the line.
With regular reapplications and proper at-home oral care, it may be possible for your child to avoid additional treatment if the silver diamine fluoride is being applied to a baby tooth. Ideally, the SDF would halt the progression of the tooth decay until the baby tooth can fall out naturally on its own. This is usually the case, but sometimes if a cavity is too deep or too far advanced, SDF may not be enough.
If SDF is being used on an adult tooth, it is likely that it is just being used as a preventive measure to hold off additional restorative treatment, such as a dental filling or root canal, until your child is old enough to undergo treatment without the need of sedation.
No, SDF treatment does not hurt. Since silver diamine fluoride requires no removal of the enamel, it is not painful. If any of the SDF liquid comes in contact with the gums, tongue, or lips your child may experience a bad taste. However, when SDF is carefully applied by an experienced dental staff, this is unlikely. At our office in Southborough, we use small brushes to ensure precise application.
By painting SDF onto your child’s tooth, your doctor can effectively stop the progression of tooth decay. SDF does this by simultaneously killing bacteria and remineralizing the tooth. The minerals in the SDF solution (silver and fluoride) penetrate the tooth structure and “fill in” the gaps where the tooth enamel has been eaten away by plaque and tartar.
SDF is effective for treating teeth that have soft spots, or the beginning stages of a cavity, but it does not work on open cavities, or more severe tooth decay. This is because when the tooth has been damaged enough to create an open cavity, the tooth will need to be filled to restore the shape and structure of the tooth, which SDF can not do.
SDF can provide relief from the tooth sensitivity caused by tooth decay.
