Don’t be afraid to smile or throw your heads back and laugh!
Tooth colored fillings can give you more confidence.
If you have had cavities filled with silver fillings, you know this feeling all too well. While silver, or metal-based, fillings do a great job of filling cavities, they also leave us with a glaring metallic reminder in our mouths.
Comfort Dental offers tooth colored fillings for both new cavities, as well as replacement of old silver fillings that may be preventing us from smiling as much as we would like.
Advancements in Dentistry
Dentistry is not a static profession – there are advances made all the time as researchers find new and better materials and techniques.
Advances allow us to help our patients both look and feel their best, while maintaining the health and functionality of their teeth. Tooth colored fillings are one such advancement improving the quality of your smile.
Tooth colored fillings do the same job as silver, metal-based fillings. They are used to fill cavities in order to prevent further decay and restore proper shape and function to the tooth. Instead of metal alloys, however, tooth colored fillings are typically made of resin or microscopic glass in an acrylic base.
How it Works
During the procedure, the decay is removed and the area is cleaned. The tooth must then be kept free of saliva as we apply an adhesive and then layers of the composite material. Once the cavity is filled, we use a special light to cure, or harden, the material into place. This procedure takes just a little longer than silver filling because the technique has a few more steps.
When done, you have a natural-looking tooth instead of a silver filling, which can help improve confidence in your smile. This is of particular importance when you have a cavity near the front of your mouth, where an amalgam filling would be much more noticeable.
Common Concern
Many people love the aesthetic value of resin, or tooth-colored fillings but have concern that tooth colored fillings will not be strong or durable enough for their back teeth.
It is true that amalgam fillings have traditionally been stronger than tooth colored fillings in terms of their ability to withstand chewing and biting pressure.
Some dentists continue to use silver, metal-based fillings on back molars for this reason. However, as the science of dentistry advances, new and better materials and techniques have resulted in techniques and materials to justify their use in the back teeth.
Filling of Choice
Tooth-colored fillings are becoming the filling of choice for many patients. Also, patients are interested in replacing old silver fillings preventing them from smiling as much as we would like.
This material can be shaded to perfectly match any tooth, seamlessly blending with the surrounding teeth. This means no one will be able to tell you have fillings!
If you have questions about tooth colored fillings or any other dental topic, please let us know. Our goal is that you have a great dental experience and incredible care.
