Fillings and Sealants

Cavity Fillings and Dental Sealants in Boulder, CO

A cavity doesn't have to be a big deal. Dr. K and the team at Table Mesa Dental repair decay with tooth-colored composite fillings that blend right into your natural teeth, and we shield the teeth most likely to be next in line with dental sealants. Usually that's one visit, start to finish.

Fillings and sealants are two sides of the same job: repair what's damaged, protect what's still healthy. We do both for adults and kids, often in the same family's appointment block. You'll see what we see on the screen, explained in plain language, so you know exactly what you're agreeing to before anything starts. To get on the books at our South Broadway office, call (303) 590-3992.

Quick Takeaways

• Plan on about an hour. Most filling and sealant visits run 30 to 60 minutes, and you can eat as soon as the numbness wears off.
• Fillings get numbed; sealants usually don't. There's no drilling involved in a sealant, which is why kids handle them so easily.
• Ask what's driving the cost. Fillings are priced by how many surfaces of the tooth are involved and where that tooth sits; sealants are priced per tooth.
• If you're nervous, say so when you book. Comfort options ranging from nitrous oxide to IV sedation are available, and asking is normal here.
• Small now beats big later. Caught early, a cavity is a filling. Left alone, it turns into a crown or a root canal.

How Fillings and Sealants Work

1. We look, then we show you

Decay usually turns up during a routine exam, often on a digital X-ray. We put the image on the screen and walk you through it, because "you have a cavity" is easier to accept when you can see the dark spot we're talking about. If it's genuinely a watch-and-wait situation, we'll say that too.

2. Getting numb, without rushing it

For a filling, we numb the area around the tooth and take our time doing it. If you've had trouble getting fully numb in the past, tell us; that changes how we approach it. Sealants skip this step entirely, since there's nothing to remove.

3. Removing the decay and rebuilding the tooth

Once you're comfortable, we take out the decayed portion and clean the space so nothing is left behind to keep spreading. Then we place composite resin, shade-matched to the enamel around it, in thin layers and cure each layer with a light. Because composite bonds to the tooth, we can stay conservative with the drill and keep more of your healthy structure.

4. Painting on a sealant

We clean and dry the chewing surface, apply a conditioning gel so the sealant grips the enamel, rinse and dry again, then flow the liquid sealant into the grooves and harden it with a curing light. It takes a few minutes per tooth and fits easily into a regular children's visit.

5. Checking the bite before you leave

This is the step that gets rushed most often, and it matters. A filling sitting even slightly too tall can leave a tooth sore for weeks. We have you tap and grind a few times and adjust until nothing feels high, so you walk out with a tooth that feels like your own again.

Why Composite Fillings and Sealants Are Worth It

• Decay stops progressing. Once enamel is breached, bacteria keep working inward toward the nerve. Removing the decay ends that.
• Nobody can tell. The resin is matched to your surrounding enamel, so a filled tooth looks like an unfilled one, even up front.
• More of your real tooth stays put. Bonded composite doesn't require the extra shaping older materials needed to lock into place.
• Sealants smooth out the hardest spot to clean. The grooves in back molars are narrower than a toothbrush bristle. A sealant turns that surface into something a brush can actually reach.
• Your bite keeps working normally. A properly shaped filling restores the tooth's anatomy, so food doesn't pack in and chewing feels natural.
• Small repairs stay small. Treating a cavity now takes far less time, and far less money, than the crown or root canal it becomes if it's ignored.

Who Fillings and Sealants Are Right For

Fillings suit anyone with active decay, a chipped or worn spot, or an older filling that's cracked or leaking at the edges. A spot we've been monitoring moves into filling territory once it changes: the dark area on the X-ray reaches through the enamel toward the softer dentin underneath, the surface goes from hard and glassy to soft or catchy, or the lesion is visibly larger than at your last set of images. Any of those means the decay is active, and composite is the fix.

Sealants are most valuable for children and teens, usually right after the six-year and twelve-year molars come in, before decay has a chance to take hold. Those brand-new molars have deep grooves and a kid's brushing habits are still developing, so sealing them buys real protection while good habits catch up. Adults with deep, groovy back molars and no decay in them can be good candidates too. We'll look during your exam and tell you honestly whether it's worth doing.

There are limits. If a tooth is badly broken down, cracked, or the decay reaches deep inside, a filling may not have enough healthy structure to hold onto. Then we'd talk with you about a crown, which wraps and reinforces the whole tooth. We mill those here with CEREC, so choosing the stronger option doesn't mean weeks in a temporary. And a sealant can't go over a tooth that already has decay; that groove has to be cleaned out and filled first.

What to Expect, Start to Finish

• The exam: Decay is diagnosed during a checkup, with images you get to see for yourself.
• The treatment visit: One appointment, typically 30 to 60 minutes. Three or four fillings can often be done in the same sitting; beyond that, we'd rather split it into visits than push you through a marathon.
• That same day: Numbness from a filling fades over a couple of hours. Sealants need no recovery at all, so kids can head straight back to lunch.
• The first week: Some sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet after a filling is normal and settles on its own. If it's getting worse instead of better, we want to know.
• Long term: We check fillings and sealants at every cleaning, and reapply sealants when they've worn thin.

Before Your Visit and After

There isn't much to prepare. Eat something beforehand if you're getting a filling, since you'll want the numbness gone before you chew again. Mention any past trouble getting numb, and tell us if dental work makes you tense. We'd rather plan around that than discover it once you're in the chair. For patients who need more than reassurance, we offer nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, and IV sedation, and Dr. K has advanced training in all of it.

Afterward, care is ordinary. Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss daily, paying attention to the edges of a filling, since that margin is where new decay tends to start. Composite hardens completely before you leave, so there's no waiting period to eat. Go easy on ice and hard candy. If you grind your teeth at night, bring it up at your next cleaning; grinding shortens the life of both fillings and sealants, and a nightguard often solves it.

Cost and Payment

What a filling costs depends on how many surfaces of the tooth are involved and where that tooth sits in your mouth. Sealants are priced per tooth. Many plans cover fillings at a set percentage, and a good number cover sealants for children outright as a preventive benefit, so the numbers can look very different from one family to the next.

We accept many dental insurance plans, and for patients without coverage we have an in-house membership plan. Either way, you'll get a written breakdown before treatment starts: what we recommend, what your plan is expected to pay, and what your share looks like. Nothing gets added mid-appointment without talking to you first.

Why Patients Choose Table Mesa Dental

Dr. Ryan Koenig, DMD, has been practicing for more than two decades, with over 1,000 hours of continuing education and advanced training in IV sedation, implants, oral surgery, and full-mouth reconstruction. That depth shows up even in something as everyday as a filling. Dr. K knows when a tooth is fine with composite and when it genuinely needs more coverage, and he'll tell you which one you're looking at instead of defaulting to the bigger procedure.

We treat kids and adults under the same roof, so a South Boulder family can have a child's new molars sealed and a parent's filling done in the same trip. The office is modern, clean, and calm, with the technology to handle whatever the exam turns up rather than sending you somewhere else for it.

Patients come to us from around Boulder, across Boulder County, and out along the Front Range, sometimes after years away from dental care and with several cavities to deal with. There's no lecture waiting. Just a plan you helped make, and a team ready to schedule it when you are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does getting a filling hurt?

The tooth is numbed first, so you should feel pressure and vibration but not pain. If the numbing itself is what you dread, or dental work in general, tell us ahead of time and we'll build comfort options into the appointment.

How many fillings can be done in one appointment?

Often three or four, depending on their size, where they sit, and how you're doing in the chair. If you need more than that, we'd rather spread the work across a couple of visits.

How long do dental sealants last?

Roughly five to ten years with good care. They wear down gradually rather than popping off all at once, so we check them at every cleaning and touch them up when they thin out.

How long will my new filling feel sensitive?

A few days to about a week is typical, usually with hot, cold, or sweet things, or when you bite down. It fades on its own. Sensitivity that keeps intensifying should be looked at.

Can adults get sealants, or are they just for kids?

Adults can absolutely get them. The candidates are back teeth with deep grooves and no existing decay. We'll check yours at your exam and let you know if it makes sense for you.

Do you still place silver fillings?

We place tooth-colored composite. It bonds to the tooth, disappears visually, and lets us conserve more healthy enamel. Existing silver fillings that are still sound usually don't need replacing purely for appearance; we'll keep an eye on them and flag one if it starts to crack or leak.

Let's Take Care of It

A cavity is one of the simplest things in dentistry to fix, as long as it doesn't sit. If a tooth has been bothering you, if a previous dentist mentioned a spot to watch, or if your kids' new molars are ready for sealants, we'd love to see you. Whatever brought you here, you'll get straight answers, a comfortable visit, and a team that treats you like a person rather than a procedure. Call Table Mesa Dental at (303) 590-3992 and we'll find a time that works.