Dealing with cavities isn’t necessarily tricky, but it can mean different things depending on several specific factors. For example, you can prevent cavities from ever developing with consistently good hygiene and preventive care. Or, you can detect and treat one before it even becomes obvious by detecting it early with advanced DIAGNOdent imaging. If a cavity develops and has time to grow more serious, then you may be able to stop it and restore your tooth with a tooth-colored filling. Using customizable composite resin that blends in discreetly with your tooth, we can create a filling that not only offers a more esthetic restoration, but also benefits your oral health in several other important ways.
Improved safety for a wider range of patients
Creating a tooth filling that looks like your natural tooth structure means using material that doesn’t contain metal, like traditional amalgam fillings do. Composite resin is a biocompatible mixture of finely ground acrylic and quartz-like particles, and zero metal of any kind. This means more patients can receive a custom filling and protect their smiles from decay, including people who are allergic to metal, pregnant, or experience health conditions that prohibit the placement of traditional metal fillings.
More biocompatible, and successful, restoration
The fact that tooth-colored composite resin fillings contain no metal is only one way in which they’re more biocompatible than amalgam. Compared to metal, the resin is also minimally abrasive to the structures of your opposing teeth, so your tooth filling won’t wear them down as you bite and chew. Also, composite resin retains the shape that originally conforms to, making it less likely to damage to your healthy, natural tooth structure. By contrast, metal fillings may change shape over time, shrinking or growing larger and compromising what’s left of your healthy tooth structure.
Reduced risks of more extensive tooth decay
When your tooth is affected by tooth decay – the infection in your tooth that leads to cavity development – it can’t repair its structure. Therefore, the exposed section of it will always be vulnerable to further infection from oral bacteria without the protection of your tooth filling. Composite resin ensures that long-term protection by retaining its shape, and also by bonding more securely to your tooth structure than metal amalgam can. The bond creates an effective, durable seal against harmful oral bacteria and reduces your risks of needing more extensive treatment later, such as root canal therapy.
Learn how you can benefit from a tooth-colored filling
In addition to blending in discreetly with your healthy, natural tooth, a tooth-colored filling can offer several important benefits for your immediate and long-term oral health. For more information, schedule a visit by calling Syosset Dental in Syosset, NY today at 516-433-2211 or 516-921-1678.
