Dental care services are there to enhance, beautify, and preserve smiles. Everyone wants and deserves the best dental care, and this is our goal at Encino Dentist. We offer a wide range of dental care services to help our clients improve their smiles and feel better about them. Tooth cavities will, for instance, take away your joy and desire to smile even when circumstances demand it. A decayed tooth will not only take away your beauty but can also be uncomfortable or painful. That is why we recommend composite fillings as the most preferred treatment method for dental cavities.
What are Dental Fillings?
Dental fillings are best to use whenever one or more of your tooth is decayed. When that happens, your dentist could remove the part of the tooth that is decayed and then seal it with a filling. Sometimes, fillings can be used to heal a broken or cracked tooth that has been weakened by continuous abuse such as teeth grinding or nail-biting.
Dental cavities result from several things, including loss of tooth mineral, popularly known as demineralization. Tooth decay can also happen when carbohydrate-rich foods get trapped between your teeth and are not removed immediately through brushing or flossing. There are significant causes of tooth decay, for instance, tooth damage caused by consumption of sticky and sugary drinks and foods. When sugar combines with the plaque, it weakens the enamel, leaving the teeth vulnerable to decay.
Today, dentists are using several types of materials to fill decayed or broken teeth. Dentists use porcelain; gold; silver amalgam (consisting of a mixture of mercury and tin, silver, copper, and zinc), and tooth-colored materials or plastic referred composite fillings. Some dentists use a content containing glass particles, called ionomer. Dentists use this material in the same way as a composite resin filling.
A few factors are put into consideration when determining the right type of filling for you. Your dentist will, for instance, consider the location of the decay, its extent, the cost of the filling, and your insurance plan. Your dentist could also recommend a particular filling material depending on their preference.
Composite Fillings
Composite fillings are among the recommended treatments for decayed or damaged teeth. There is a good thing about seeking dental help today. Dentists and their patients alike have more options when it comes to materials they prefer to use to restore their decayed or fractured teeth. Composite fillings are the most preferred because of their natural look, which can be made to match precisely with the color of your teeth. With this, no one will have to know that your tooth has a cavity. Composite fillings encourage tooth decay patients to live their lives fully.
Composite fillings are made from a mixture of powdered glass and plastic, which is made to look exactly like the look of the affected tooth. The mixture is well prepared to be used to improve the look and functionality of your tooth. The filling will change the color of your tooth, restore a decayed tooth, close gaps between teeth, repair chipped teeth, and improve the look of the teeth.
Qualified dentists prepare composite fillings in their offices. Once the mixture is ready, your dentist will apply it in layers to the affected tooth. After every application, your dentist will use a unique curing light to harden every layer. After the completion of the hardening process, your dentist will now shape the composite filling to fit the affected tooth and match with the adjacent teeth. He/she will then smoothen out and polish the filling to protect it from getting stained or wearing out prematurely.
Advantages of Composite Fillings
Composite fillings are more visually pleasing because they are designed to match the natural color and the look of the tooth. For anyone that is looking for a natural-looking alternative to other traditional fillings, a composite filling would be a great choice to make. A composite filling used on a front or visible tooth will give you back your smile because it is impossible to smile when a front tooth has a cavity. Again, this form of filling will last for a longer time, assuring you of so many years of beautiful smiles.
The composite filling requires less to drill. For people who are scared of dental procedures, you may never be able to patiently wait as your dentist removes a significant amount of structure from your tooth. That is why composite fillings are recommended. Your dentist will only be required to remove the affected part, and the rest of the tooth will remain. Again, this means that you do not have to stay still for a longer time through the procedure. When compared to amalgam fillings, you will still get to keep much of your natural tooth after the filling.
Composite fillings harden very fast. In just a few seconds, you will be good to go with a filled tooth. Note that there are filling materials that could take even days to harden. This means that the patient will keep coming back until the entire process is over. A day’s visit to the dentist is enough to get a complete filling and restoration of your decayed or chipped tooth. This saves a lot of time for patients.
A composite filling bonds to the tooth. It gives the weakened tooth higher strength so that it does not break. An already damaged tooth will need enough stability to stand and function as it should. While some fillings can only stand moderate pressure, composite fillings give you back the full functionality of your previously damaged tooth. You do not have to worry about chewing food, for instance, because your tooth will once again be able to do that without any difficulty or discomfort.
Finally, you can always go back to your dentist to have your composite filling repaired if damaged. Sometimes the inevitable happens, and this automatically means that you might lose the functionality of your tooth again. However, you should not worry about that if you got a composite filling. This is because it is repairable.
Disadvantages of Composite Fillings
When compared to other types of dental fillings, composite fillings do not last for long. The filling can wear out pretty soon than expected. Amalgam fillings can go for between 10 and 15 years, but a composite filling will last for a maximum of five years. Their length of time is also shortened by the amount of pressure they have to endure wit chewing. Composite fillings used on larger cavities will also wear out faster than those on smaller cavities.
The amount of time it takes to fill a single cavity fully is extended. For people who are not patient enough, they may not like sitting for a while for the entire process to get finished. Amalgam fillings take a much shorter period. Again, you may need a couple of dental office visits to be fully satisfied with the installation. This is so if you are getting composites for on-lays or inlays. This could be a little tiring, especially since you may have to come back soon after for repairs.
Following the procedure, many patients experience little sensitivity and discomfort. This may make things even harder for a person that was already experiencing pain or trouble with the damaged tooth.
Lastly, dental composites are generally expensive. They are more expensive than most types of dental fillings. In some cases, they are not covered by insurance plans. Patients might have to dig deeper into their pockets to afford this form of dental treatment. Even with all the benefits they present, some people are unable to afford them.
How to Care For Your Composite Filling
For your dental filling to stay longer and in good shape, you need to learn about its aftercare. Choosing a good dentist to fill it up perfectly is not enough. Sometimes, patients make mistakes that end up ruining proper dental procedures. Immediately after the process, your mouth will still be a little dumb. For just a few hours after that, avoid chewing on the side of the affected tooth. Be careful with hot drinks too.
However, you are allowed to start chewing as soon as the numbness wears out. The general dental rule is to take care of your teeth. Keeping your teeth and mouth clean through brushing and flossing, you may help prevent more decay and ensure that the filling is in good shape.
Find an Encino Dentist Near Me
Taking care of your teeth is a significant step in maintaining better health. This includes taking measures to prevent dental cavities and weakening of teeth. These are some of the issues that affect the functionality of your teeth as well as your smile. However, if there is a cavity or damaged tooth already, it can be salvaged. At Encino Dentist, we recommend composite fillings because of their natural look and their ability to give stability to an already weak tooth. Call us at 818-650-0429 to enjoy our quality and most affordable dental care.
