Composite Fillings (White Fillings)
A filling is one method to restore a tooth which has been damaged by decay. The objective of the filling is to remove the damaged part and replace it with an artificial material, to strengthen the tooth and prevent further decay. For natural looking fillings, a composite resin (white) filling is generally the best choice.
Filling Process:
- The decayed part of the tooth is removed.
- The cavity is cleaned.
- The cavity is filled with a filling material to restore the tooth shape.
- The filling is polished to ensure a smooth finish which doesn’t interfere with your bite.
Materials:
Modern material science has created a number of fantastic composite materials which can be used to repair teeth. Material choice can depend on:
- Budget.
- Cosmetic preference.
- Location of Filling.
- Size of filling.
- Allergies to certain materials.
Composite fillings are color matched to your natural teeth, and create a good cosmetic appearance. The composite resin is mixed and placed in the dental cavity in thin layers where it hardens with UV light.
Advantages:- Good cosmetic color matching.
- They can be completed in a single dental visit.
- The composite fillings bond directly to the tooth, which strengths the tooth and makes it stronger than with a traditional amalgam filling.
- Less tooth material needs to be removed for a composite filling compared to an amalgam filling. This is because composites do not require a large space in the tooth to hold the filling securely.
- Composite resin can be used in combination with other materials, including glass ionomers, to provide the benefits of both materials.
Disadvantages:
- Composite fillings are more expensive than traditional amalgam fillings.
- Composite materials may not last as long as amalgam in areas of the mouth with high biting force.
- The composite material may shrink if poorly completed, and this can leave to cavities on the edge of the filling.
- The fillings are often placed in multiple layers and this increases the time to complete them.
Glass Ionomer fillings are color matched to your natural teeth, and create a good cosmetic appearance. They are not very strong and should only be used in placed without much biting force. They are made of acrylic and a fluoroaluminosilicate glass and generally set without UV light.
Advantages:- Good cosmetic color matching, but not always as good as composite resin.
- They can be completed in a single dental visit.
- Glass ionomer material releases fluoride over time, and this helps to protect the tooth from further decay.
- Glass ionomer fillings bond to the tooth material and reduces the risk of leakage around the filling.
- Comparable cost to composite resin fillings.
Disadvantages:
- Glass ionomer fillings are more expensive than amalgam fillings.
- Significantly weaker than composite / amalgam materials, and may break under biting stress.
- It doesn’t polish well.
- It wears out faster than other filling materials.
Resin-modified or hybrid composite glass ionomer fillings are much stronger and can offer better color matching. These special materials are typically cured with UV light.
Wikipedia Link
