It’s important to care for your dental health the best you can by brushing and flossing every day. This reduces your risk of developing cavities, but there are times when a tooth can get decayed even when you’re keeping up with your oral hygiene regimen. When this happens, you will likely need a dental filling. There are different types of dental fillings that are made from different materials. Some of these materials are better for you to have in your mouth than certain other materials.
A cavity is an area of decay in your tooth that often causes a hole to form. The dentist will need to drill out the decayed portion, which leaves a larger hole in the tooth. This hole is then filled in with the right substance for you so that your tooth is restored. This prevents more decay from taking place, and it makes the tooth look better at the same time. Sometimes, a cavity is caused by brushing or flossing incorrectly, but other times it’s a simple matter of genetics. No matter what caused it, a filling will end it for better dental health. Without a filling, the decay would keep getting worse, and the tooth could become highly painful before being lost. To get a filling, there has to be enough tooth left behind after the cavity is removed. This allows the tooth to hold onto the filling.
Filling Materials
There are different materials that have been used as fillings throughout the years. Gold was often used for fillings at one time, as were porcelain and silver amalgams. There are a number of drawbacks with these filling materials, however, and most of the fillings created today are made from a composite resin. This resin is made to be the same color as the rest of your tooth so that you can’t even tell where the filling was placed.
In the recent past, it was highly common to use amalgam mercury fillings. They were silver in color, and they were made up of about 50% mercury and contained other metals such as copper, zinc, silver, and tin. These were often used because they were easy to use and were very durable, generally lasting a long time. However, those fillings ended up being made from the worst materials.
With so much mercury in them, these fillings were highly toxic and put people at risk of a number of health problems. The World Health Organization has said that no one should be exposed to any amount of mercury, making these fillings rarely used today. Mercury poisoning can cause problems with memory and thinking, among other symptoms. Silver fillings can also stain the teeth, leak, and can get worn out and broken.
Instead of these amalgams, composite resin has become the most common material that fillings are made from. They are inexpensive and highly effective at filling in a hole in a tooth. They are also perfectly safe. If you have had silver fillings in the past, it’s a good idea to have them removed and replaced with resin fillings. You can call us to perform this service so that you are no longer exposed to mercury and won’t be in danger of leaking and staining.
Resin fillings also look much better than their silvered-colored predecessors. While the silver color of those fillings stood out sharply from the light color of the teeth, resin composite fillings are made to precisely match your tooth color so that you can’t even see where they were applied. They look completely natural and even have the same texture and shine as your natural teeth.
Other Benefits of Composite Resin
The way they look and their benign composition are major benefits, but there are many others. As you use your teeth, the fillings will get some wear, but they will wear in just the same way as your natural tooth. They can also be placed in various areas of the tooth instead of just at the gum line like older fillings needed to be. This allows them to be put into areas that will help even more with your oral health. And because better placement is possible with resin fillings, the tooth becomes stronger and is far more durable.
Your dentist will be able to tell you which type of filling material needs to be used on your unique tooth. When you have cavities that need to be treated, call us to get the fillings you need. At The Center for Family & Implant Dentistry, we are here to give you the best fillings and to do it at a time that’s convenient for you. When you get your filling, you’ll get local anesthetic and won’t feel a thing. We also make sure that you’re comfortable when you’re here and that you get any sedation that you want in order to stay relaxed.
