Wow, that was quick.
Air abrasion was invented in the 1950’s, but did not become used in dentistry until the invention of more durable bonding materials which could be easily placed into smaller cavities in the 1990’s. The silver amalgam used in the 1950’s could not be used with air abrasion since it does not stick to the tooth. The techniques of minimally invasive dentistry and air abrasion are used to treat only the cavity and nothing else in the tooth. Once infected tooth decay is removed by the air abrasion stream of aluminum oxide, the tooth opening is then chemically prepared, sealed and then filled with a durable adhesive tooth colored composite. The whole process is painless and is very durable. The tooth is less likely to be sensitive than a silver filling after treatment, and the tooth is stronger since less structure is removed than with traditional drills and silver fillings. This is a fast, painless and lasting method of fixing a problem tooth. I use it for almost every filling since it super cleans the tooth faster and more effectively than any other method.
I’ve had this procedure done for fillings at Dr. Korwin’s office. It’s even painless without being numbed first.