Hey, I lost my filling (or my tooth broke) and it hurt for a bit but now it feels fine, so everything is ok, right? Wrong. Sorry to burst your balloon, but when it comes to teeth, no pain doesn’t mean no problem.
The filling may have come out (or the tooth broke) because there was already a big cavity under it. Now there is a big hole for more food to be trapped in, feeding the bacteria (the infamous sugar bugs, BTW, they eat more than sugar) which are causing a bigger cavity to form which will eventually cause you PAIN. The longer you wait from losing the filling (or breaking a tooth) to when you see a dentist can make the difference between another filling ($240-ish) to root canal treatment and a crown ($2,500+). Or even worse, you may need to have the tooth extracted. To replace it would either require a fixed bridge ($3,500) or an implant/crown ($5,000).
As you see, the old adage is true; “A stitch in time saves nine” (a sewing metaphor for those who don’t sew). In terms of teeth, early treatment can save you lots and lots of money (and your teeth) and keep you out of pain.