“How do cavities heal without fillings?”

You cannot stop the spread once the “cavity” is through the enamel and into the dentin. If you treat it now, it’s 200 dollars, takes 20 minutes, and last 20 years If you wait till it hurts, it’s 2,000 dollars, or you extract the tooth. Please get the filling. You’re on 22 and need these teeth for 60+ more years.

They don't. If you have a cavity from decay with bacteria, it needs to be cleaned out thoroughly and a filling placed.

So glad you asked that question! Daily application of a concentrated Fluoride Rx gel can remineralize some caries lesions. A newer treatment is called Silver diamine fluoride..I prefer that. It arrests and reverses decay by killing bacteria AND remineralizing decay. Google it. It does turn just decay black but not sound tooth structure. A filling can still be placed in the future to cover it, but it does preserve more tooth than just filling it to begin with. Ask a dentist.

Hi,

That is a great question! You can't necessarily "heal" cavities, however, you can arrest (stop their growth) them by performing proper oral health habits, such as brushing with a fluoridated toothpaste at least twice a day, and also flossing daily! In addition, you need to make regular visits with your dental care team, twice a year at a minimum, to ensure you are doing the best for your oral health!

Always with a smile,

Dr. Grover

If it is very small on a smooth tooth surface, it may be able to be remineralized with a toothpaste with high concentration of fluoride and minerals. If it is on the biting surface, not as effective as if the cavity is on the smooth side surface. 

Hello,

Only certain cavities can heal without fillings. The cavity has to be extremely small, microscopic, in fact. It sounds weird to say; but a cavity can only be healed as long as it is not cavitated. It is helpful to think of the enamel of a tooth like scaffolding. Prior to becoming an actual cavity, the tooth gets demineralized in that area. The enamel looses its minerals but the scaffolding is still there. This is the beginning part of the cavity and as long as the scaffolding is still there then minerals can be added back to it. At this point, dentists advise to increase brushing and flossing and and a fluoride mouth wash into the daily routine. Fluoride will get added to the enamel scaffold and the cavity process will reverse. This is a long process that requires frequent check ups at the dental office. However, once the scaffolding is gone, there is nothing there for the minerals to cling onto. Hope this helps.

My best to you

William F. Scott IV, DMD

Generally cavities do not heal themselves. If, it is an extremely small cavity sometimes bioactive materials can be used in the dental office to restore the tooth.
See your dentist to see if they can be restored.

Cavities don't necessarily heal but decay that is in enamel, first layer of your tooth is made of inorganic/non living material like a rock and can be remineralized with products that contain fluoride or calcium toothpastes like MI Paste a provider can prescribe that doesn't contain fluoride. The issue is that these areas will always be more susceptible to decay than areas that were never demineralized/exposed to decay. Regular check ups are highly advised to make sure these areas have not reactivated into decaying your tooth or teeth. Some dentist may recommend x rays every 6 months for up to 3 years to make sure growth does not occur.