What happens if I don't get the SDF?
The short answer
A cavity usually keeps growing unless something stops it. If you skip SDF, the question is what you'll do instead, such as a filling. Leaving an active cavity alone often means a bigger repair later, or a toothache.
What can happen over time
- The cavity grows. Slowly in some people, quickly in others, especially in baby teeth.
- It can reach the nerve, which can mean pain, infection, and a root canal or removing the tooth. In a baby tooth, this may mean a nerve treatment or removal.
- Sometimes it stops on its own. Small cavities can stay still when brushing, fluoride, and diet improve. Your dentist can tell you whether yours looks active.
“It's just a baby tooth”
It's tempting to skip treatment on a tooth that will fall out anyway. But some baby teeth, especially the back ones, stay until about age 10 to 12. They hold space for the adult teeth, and an infected baby tooth can be painful and, in some cases, affect the adult tooth forming underneath. How soon the tooth is likely to fall out is a fair question to ask, and it's often part of why SDF is chosen.
If you decide not to
That's your choice. Ask what you'd do instead: a filling now, fluoride varnish, or watching it closely. See Are there alternatives to SDF? Get seen promptly if the tooth starts to ache, keeps hurting after hot or cold, or the gum near it swells. Facial swelling or fever needs urgent care; trouble breathing or swallowing, or swelling that's spreading, is an emergency: go to an emergency room.
Questions to ask
- Is this cavity active, or could it stay stable?
- If not SDF, what would you recommend instead?
- How soon should we re-check it?
- For a baby tooth: about how long until it falls out?
- Before we schedule, can I get my cost in writing? (A predetermination if I'm using insurance, or a good faith estimate if I'm paying myself.)
When a second opinion makes sense
Reasonable if you're told several cavities need treatment urgently but none of them hurt and your dentist can't show them to you on an X-ray or up close.