Exploring The Benefits Of White Fillings
•Your smile is without doubt a valuable asset. It says a lot about who you are and helps you to connect with other people. Once when a cavity occurred the only option would have been an unsightly metal filling. Nowadays white or tooth coloured composite fillings are an attractive cosmetic alternative and are strong enough to withstand the normal wear and tear of everyday life while keeping your natural smile looking flawless. In fact, composite fillings are so popular that as a cosmetic dentist in Southampton we regularly replace the fillings of patients who are unhappy with their unsightly silver amalgam fillings with composite ones.
The process
White fillings are made from a mixture of plastic and glass particles. The decayed portion of the tooth is removed and the soft composite resin is placed in layers to ensure that it completely fills the cavity. Each layer is hardened using a special light which bonds the composite resin to your tooth. Once hardened, the team at Riverview Dental is able to shape the composite so that it resembles your other teeth and to ensure an even bite. It’s then polished to prevent premature wear and staining.
The advantages
There are many advantages to composite fillings including:
- Aesthetics – Unlike silver-colored fillings, composite fillings look just like your natural teeth since the color can be carefully blended for a seamless finish. This makes them an ideal choice for front teeth which would look very unattractive with a silver filling.
- Stability – A composite filling also requires very little of the tooth structure to be removed for placement which means more of your natural tooth is preserved. Since the filling bonds with the actual tooth, it offers additional stability for a tooth that has already been weakened by decay.
- Insulation – White fillings are not affected by any changes in temperature which occur in your mouth, unlike amalgam fillings which tend to contract and expand, and this protects your tooth from fracture.
- Versatility – Composite resin is very versatile and besides fillings can also be used to repair teeth that are chipped, broken, or badly worn.
- Free from metal – Finally, white fillings do not contain any metal. Some studies have suggested that mercury used in amalgam fillings can pose a threat to your health, although this is not conclusive.
For these reasons, the majority of dental health carriers pay for coverage of resin fillings in teeth that are visible in a patient’s smile. For example, virtually all of Delta Dental’s plans cover resin fillings on the teeth where their cosmetic benefit is critical: the six front teeth (incisors and cuspids) and on the facial (cheek side) surfaces of the next two teeth (bicuspids).
source: https://www.deltadentalins.com/oral_health/amalgam.html