White Fillings
Thinking of replacing your old amalgam fillings? Give us a call for a safe removal and more aesthetic option today! Contact Molonglo Dental Surgery at 02 6287 1222.
If the dentist has found a small cavity in your mouth, the best solution to address the dental issue is with a dental filling. In the past, the dentist would place a silver-coloured material known as an amalgam filling onto the tooth to fill the cavity and protect it from further deterioration. Advances in dental technology and in materials sciences have produced more modern alternatives to amalgam fillings. White tooth fillings, or composite fillings as they are sometimes known, are increasingly favoured as a tooth filling material due to its aesthetic and non-metal properties.
Unlike amalgam fillings that look unsightly in the mouth – due to its dark silver colour that appear in stark contrast to neighbouring teeth – composite fillings are able to blend in seamlessly with the rest of your teeth, while helping to restore the natural appearance of your smile.
Using new generation materials like Synthetic Resin or Composite, White fillings not only produce the most aesthetic results, they also allow the least invasive filling method. A trusted filling material of choice for many dentists, Composite Fillings are also considered to be safe as they are free from health concerns surrounding the use of mercury fillings.
Benefits of White Fillings
The three main benefits of White Fillings are:
Aesthetic Beauty: As mentioned, the silver appearance of amalgam fillings resembles a dark spot that sharply contrasts with the other teeth. That is why some dentists only use amalgam fillings when the affected teeth are hidden from view in the back of the mouth. White fillings, by comparison, offer a far more aesthetic option, especially when used to fill cavities in the front teeth. The tooth-coloured material of White Fillings makes them virtually undetectable in your mouth. In fact, an experienced cosmetic dentist can make the repaired tooth look like your natural tooth to seamlessly regain your beautiful smile.
Less tooth reduction required: Another great advantage of white fillings lies in the direct bonding method used to place them. Unlike the placement of amalgam filling that utilises the mechanical retentive properties of the preparation to adhere the material to the tooth, the direct bonding method allows a less onerous procedure for both dentist and the patient. The tooth reduction necessary at the preparation stage is also greatly reduced as compared to the amalgam filling placement procedure. With the direct bonding method, the dentist is able to better preserve your existing tooth structure.
Less tooth sensitivity: Being composed mainly of metallic materials, amalgam restorations are prone to contractions and expansions when exposed to fluctuating temperatures in the mouth – typically caused by eating and drinking foods and beverages that are extremely hot or cold. By comparison, white fillings significantly reduce the probability of tooth sensitivity.
While it is true that initial versions of white fillings suffered from tooth sensitivity issues, mainly caused by the etching process, it should also be noted that vast improvements have been made to the quality of the material to eliminate the etching process and solving the initial marginal leakage issues.
No mercury content: Mercury is a toxic substance that makes up a large portion of an amalgam filling (in terms of percentage of weight). As a dental material that once placed in your mouth can remain there for many years, using the mercury-filled restorative material has come under intense scrutiny by both the dental community as well as the general public. Although in very minute quantities, the potentially harmful mercury vapours may be released into the mouth or break down through grinding and chewing, as such, presenting a questionable health issue. Over time, the presence of these tiny particles of highly toxic substance through the placement of amalgam fillings have raised many questions and remains a controversial subject.
As such, some people who have had amalgam fillings placed have undergone safe amalgam removal process to replace them with the more aesthetic – and less worrisome – composite fillings.
