If you’re “of a certain age” and have fillings in some of your teeth, they’re probably made of silver amalgam material. While there are still some Austin dentists who use amalgam, newer dental materials like composite resins and porcelains are becoming much more commonplace in modern dentistry. Not only do these tooth-colored materials look more natural, they also bond better to your teeth, making them much more useful not only for fillings but for rebuilding teeth as well.
There are three different types of fillings that dentist create for patients, depending on each individual’s dental needs:
- • Direct fillings – If you have a small cavity, your dentist will probably treat it with a direct filling. This process involves placing a small amount of tooth-colored material into the cavity in layers and using lights to harden the material. Direct fillings can be done in one visit.
- • Semi-direct fillings – If you have a larger area of decay, your dentist might choose to use a semi-direct filling. Once again, layers of materials are used, but in this case the tooth restoration is set outside of the mouth, then bonded onto the tooth afterwards.
- • Indirect fillings – If you have a very large area that needs to be filled, or if you require a complete restoration of one or more teeth, your dentist will probably choose to use an indirect filling, more commonly referred to as a crown. In these circumstances, the dentist will make an impression of the tooth, send that impression out to a dental lab to be created, and later put it in place over the affected tooth. An indirect filling requires more than one trip to the dentist, and you will be fitted with a temporary crown while the permanent one is created.
Tooth-colored fillings are offered at Austin Dental Center, to make an appointment call (512) 454-0414
Source: http://yoursmilebecomesyou.com/procedures/tooth-colored-fillings/
