Food Between the Teeth, and the Question of Fillings

Any food particle genuinely stuck between the teeth must be removed before ghusl — the teeth brushed beforehand — since otherwise, according to the majority of the Ḥanafīs, the ghusl made is not valid. A dental filling is a distinct case. Because a filling placed while a person was in a state of purity permanently covers the inner surface of the tooth, water can no longer reach beneath it in any later ghusl, and this is not something that can reasonably be asked of anyone. On this particular point the majority of the Ḥanafīs adopt the position of Imam al-Shāfiʿī, for whom washing the inside of the mouth is not farḍ in the way it is according to the Ḥanafī school generally, which requires both the mouth and the nostrils to be washed. Someone without any fillings at all, but with a noticeably large gap between the teeth — wide enough for a chickpea, say, or a trace of curry, to lodge in it — has no such concession, and must make sure to clean it out before going into the shower.