Tooth-colored dental fillings

Tooth-colored dental fillings are used to fill cavities in teeth.

Tooth-colored dental fillings are not made of tooth enamel like traditional white fillings, but instead are artificial resins that mimic the color and shape of natural teeth. This is done by using x-rays to take an impression of the tooth, which is then used to create a mold that is injected with liquid resin.

There are numerous benefits to tooth-colored fillings over traditional silver amalgam fillings. The most notable of these are aesthetic: Tooth-colored fillings blend in better with natural teeth and thus offer a more natural look than the metal-based alternative. This allows for tooth-colored fillings to be placed without compromising the color of surrounding teeth. Additionally, tooth-colored fillings are slightly more resistant to fractures than amalgam.

Another advantage is that they are less toxic to patients receiving them due to the lack of mercury used in their composition. Finally, tooth-colored fillings may cost less since there is no need for specialty training to use mercury-free materials.

Tooth-colored fillings can replace the need for crowns on teeth, which is good news for patients with decayed/misaligned teeth who do not want to go through the process of having a crown placed over their tooth. A patient could have this type of dental filling placed on several teeth to strengthen them and avoid the need for crowning.

With all these benefits, many people are choosing tooth-colored fillings over traditional silver amalgam fillings. However, some patients may not be good candidates due to the location of their cavity or an underlying health condition that would make tooth-colored fillings inadvisable.

Tooth-colored fillings are an excellent option for patients that want or need to replace silver amalgam fillings. Their numerous benefits make them a good alternative, and many patients select them over the traditional metal alternative.

In summary,

Tooth-colored dental fillings are a form of restorative dentistry. Tooth-colored fillings also referred to as composites or white fillings, are used to repair teeth with cavities and can be a low-cost alternative to silver amalgam fillings. These types of fillings use a mixture of components typically consisting of plastic resin and glass or quartz filler particles. They come in a variety of shades which allows the coloration to blend more naturally into the surrounding tooth tissue as opposed to silver amalgams which typically have a gray appearance. Dental composite resins were first introduced in the 1960s and have since become a popular choice for both aesthetic and functional reasons. There are many advantages to using tooth-colored restorations, including durability, ease of use, minimal removal of healthy tooth structure, improved esthetics (cosmetics), increased patient satisfaction, decreased sensitivity concerns with post-op trays compared to amalgams, and fewer secondary problems such as postoperative sensitivity