Composite Fillings

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Cavities and small fractures can cause much larger issues if left untreated. In the past, amalgam fillings (silver fillings) were often used to fill teeth. While they did a good job of fixing teeth, they also left many teeth discolored and strained from the wedging effect of the metal. Today, tooth-colored composite resins blend into the tooth structure and are chemically bonded to the tooth providing a strong, permanent restoration.

Advantages of composite fillings: 

• Match the color and appearance of your natural teeth
• Hardens in seconds instead of days like other materials
• Bond to the tooth, which gives it greater strength
• Can easily be repaired if damaged
• Require less drilling compared to other fillings, keeping more of your tooth's structure intact
• Can also be used to fix cracked or chipped teeth

Composites serve both functional and aesthetic roles, often at the same time. For example, a cavity invading the front of a tooth along the gum line may be visible in your smile line. By gently cleaning out the soft, discolored area and replacing it with a tooth-colored filling, the tooth is restored and looks better than ever.

A simple procedure 

Composites contain a mix of liquid resin embedded with finely ground glass particles. After being molded to the prepared tooth structure, a blue light applied directly to the composite hardens the filling material within seconds. Once it’s shaped and polished to a high shine, the restoration is complete.