Over the last 50 years materials used to help restore decayed teeth have advanced.
Composite fillings or white fillings are the material of choice for giving you a more natural-looking smile.
Composites are feeling is designed to match the colour of your teeth and, blend in with your tooth enamel.
They’re the perfect choice for a cavity in a visible area of your smile, like on the front teeth or at the gum line.
The two main ingredients are plastic resin and a filler of finely ground glass-like particles.
Although composites are preferred for cosmetic reasons, if a cavity is too large or is in an area where much chewing occurs, your dentist may recommend other treatment options.
If you have any questions about composite fillings or any other restorative materials ask your dentist. For the Silverhill Dental Clinic, Dr. Laleh Rahmani.
Composite Fillings or Tooth Colored
When repairing a small cavity, a composite filling can restore your tooth to shape and function, while also mimicking the tooth’s natural shade.
During the first step, your tooth is prepared by removing the decayed portion, leaving a small area that will be filled with the composite.
Next, a special bonding agent is applied to the prepared area.
This bonding process helps to ensure that the filling will attach to the natural tooth structure.
A special curing light is then used to set the bonding fluid.
Your dentist then applies the composite material to fill the prepared area and shapes it to match the contours of your tooth’s surface.
Again using the special curing light, the shaped composite is hardened to resist the forces of the opposing teeth.
As a final step, your dentist will polish the composite filling to smoothen it and give it a similar sheen to the rest of your tooth.
Once completed, your tooth is free of decay and restored to its natural strength and appearance.
Reasons for Composite Fillings
You may want to consider a dentist who offers composite fillings.
- Aesthetics
The colour of composite fillings resembles that of your natural teeth and are particularly suited for the front teeth that are more visible than the rear teeth.
When you do Metal fillings, it can seem to reduce the aesthetic value of your teeth. - Bonding
Since the composite filling is applied in a molten-like state, they bond micro-mechanically to your teeth structures.
Unlike the metal fillings, the composite resins bond very well with the teeth and can provide mechanical support to the weak or chipped teeth. - Versatility
Although the primary function of dental fillings is to cover up the dental gaps, composite dental fillings can also bond the broken or chipped parts of your tooth, and apart from filling the hollow cavities, composite resins can provide vitality and strengthen weak or chipped teeth. - Retention of Existing Teeth
Almost all dental prostheses or artificial body parts need scrapping off a part of your enamel before administering them.
The composite fillings can be applied on your teeth’ chewing surface without scraping off the enamel to accommodate the filling. - Safe
Metals can be dangerous for the roots of your teeth in the long run. Moreover, high-quality metals are expensive too.
In composite resin, you stay safe from the adverse effects of mercury found in amalgam fillings. - Less Expensive
The composite resins are less expensive and more durable than the traditional metal or porcelain dental filings. - Non-Invasive Treatment
Incorporating composite resins is a non-invasive treatment and can be completed in a single visit to our dental clinic. Our dentists can incorporate painless composite resin filling - You want your filling to blend in, not stand out
Differences Between Dental Crowns and Fillings
When a tooth’s structure has been compromised by decay, your doctor may choose to use a filling or crown to repair it.
There are some differences between the two solutions that you will want to discuss with your doctor as you plan your treatment.
When repairing a small area of decay, a filling is a great option to replace the damaged portion of the tooth while preserving the majority of the tooth’s natural structure.
The cavity can be filled with a material called composite.
Composite closely mimics the tooth’s natural shade and sheen.
Once completed, the filling should halt the decay and keep the tooth healthy for several years.
Additional benefits of filling include the ability to be completed within a single appointment and, the lessened cost compared to a crown.
However, a drawback of a filling can be a shorter comparative life span for the restoration, and potential long-term issues like recurring decay and cracking can occur.
The risk of cracking is increased as the area needing to be replaced gets larger.
When the tooth cracks, a more extensive procedure will be required to return the tooth to optimal shape and function.
Another option is placing a crown over the tooth.
This is the best treatment when a tooth has been weakened by extensive decay, injury or deterioration of a large filling.
A crown procedure involves reducing the surface area of the whole tooth to remove the decay and then covering it entirely with a restoration made of metal, ceramic, or a combination of the two.
Crowns offer better durability and reliable longevity compared to a large filling and eliminate the potential for teeth to develop fractures over time.
Also, when ceramic is used, they provide a much more uniform and naturally pleasing appearance.
This procedure is more involved than receiving a filling and can require multiple appointments if moulds are sent to an outside lab to create the crown.
While also more expensive than a filling, the durability and reliable longevity of a crown offset this expense over time.
In the right circumstances. Both a filling and a crown are excellent solutions for repairing decayed or damaged teeth.
You must consult with your doctor so that the right choice can be made based on your unique needs.
Cracked Teeth
Cracked teeth are more common the older.
We get they’re the number one reason we lose teeth as we age so knowing how to control the cracks internally and on the outside of the tooth is very important.
Chewing ice is very harmful to teeth the thermal coefficient of that ice on the hard to structure causes expansion and contraction and causes the cracks to multiply down that tooth.
Treatment for Cracked Teeth
There are a lot of ways to address this. In some cases, we may poke a hole into that tooth and follow that crack put a little filling in there.
Bond that tooth together(filling can bond tooth).
oftentimes that crack goes a bit deeper, and so that kind of a hole poked into that tooth weakens the tooth structure.
The more appropriate focus for controlling cracks is doing on lays or crowns on teeth.
An online covers that tooth in its entirety and prevents the structure of that tooth to split like a wedge if you do have a filling inside that tooth.
Ways to Prevent Cracked Teeth
The takeaway for you is that less is more.
Bite guards avoiding clenching controlling the bite forces before starting to cut into the tooth is maybe the more conservative and long-term approach before we cause the fractures to break through the entirety of the tooth catastrophic.
The other takeaway of the message is putting an overlay or a crown on top of that tooth or a veneer if the cracks are in the front is providing strength to that tooth long-term if you have a crack in your tooth and you’re starting to feel sensitivity be sure to let your dentist know.
For more information please call (416) 234 – 8060
2 Responses
I like that you mentioned how the color of composite fillings resembles that of your natural teeth and is particularly suited for the front teeth that are more visible than the rear teeth. Some of my teeth are cracked and I want them to get fixed soon. I should probably visit a general dentistry clinic later and ask for composite fillings.
When you smile, the first thought you have shouldn’t be about the colour of your teeth. We believe dental restoration offers more than structural support.
By using the latest dental advancements, restoring dental strength while maintaining aesthetic beauty can go hand-in-hand with white tooth fillings.