Dental Fillings for Dental Restorations

Dental restoration is a big arm of dentistry. It is concerned with restoring the function and cosmetic appearance of teeth. A lot of the dental works performed in dental restoration shave to do with saving the natural tooth. Technically, a natural tooth is built to last a lifetime. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have their teeth serve them their entire lifetime. Such are the situations where dentists intervene with different restorative processes, including dental fillings.

What Are Dental Fillings?

They are different materials used in dentistry to fill a tooth following a cavity. They help protect the surfaces of teeth that are infected through tooth decay. They are considered a remedy for decayed teeth, to prevent it from advancing to a full-blown stage. Most patients that consider teeth fillings do so following increased tooth sensitivity, as a result of a cavity.

However, for you to qualify for an oral filling, the affected tooth must be salvageable. This means that advanced cases of tooth decay cannot be corrected with cavity fillings. Besides, fillings are not used to heal a tooth from the cavity. They do not take away the cavity. Instead, they seal the opening of the cavity to prevent further infection from plaque and food residues.

Other than that, oral fillings are used in restoring broken teeth. When the enamel of a tooth is broken, it creates an entry point that food residues and plaque can use to get the internal parts of a tooth infected. In such cases, a tooth filling can be used to reinforce the strength of the tooth while closing up the hole created. This happens a lot for children, which is why fillings are readily available in kids’ first dental facilities.

Types of Oral Fillings

Fillings used for teeth differ depending on the material. The materials have changed over the years. Depending on your preference, you can choose between the following types:

1. Gold fillings – they feature gold material. They are very expensive, given the initial cost of gold metal. The fillings are loved because of the sturdiness of the material.
2. Silver fillings – they are very popular ad have widely been used over the years. They feature silver metal as the base material. They are also known as Amalgams and are very affordable when compared to gold fillings.
3. Composite fillings – they are tooth-colored fillings used as a cosmetic alternative to amalgams. Given their cosmetic advantage, composite fillings are more expensive than amalgams, and can even double their costs.

Steps Involved In Filling a Tooth

When you visit a dentist in Greenwood, SC, the first thing he/she will do is conduct a dental exam. This is to examine the health of your teeth. Any tooth that has a cavity, is broken or shows signs of decay, is identified for treatment. Once this is ascertained, your dentist proceeds to the following steps:

1. Numbing – the dentist will numb the area of the affected tooth with local anesthesia. This will make the process painless. Besides, when a tooth has already started decaying, feelings of increased sensitivity, and sometimes toothaches can result. Numbing will help alleviate all the discomfort.
2. Decay removal – the removal of the decay on your tooth is necessary before a filling is placed. The dentist will use a drill or a laser to remove the decay.
3. Teeth cleaning – your teeth are cleaned to get rid of any food residues and plaque that may be causing the infection. This step is important to ensure that the tooth filling placed afterward is not placed on top of plaque as this would defy the purpose thereof.

Filling process – the filling process involves creating a lining on the surface of the tooth. The lining is useful to protect the nerves of the tooth from getting infected. It also closes up the hole formed by tooth decaying. Depending on the type of filling used for your tooth, the process from here will differ. In most cases, the dentist will only polish your tooth and you are ready for the go. However, for tooth-colored fillings, the material has to be dried and hardened in a special way. A laser of ultraviolet light is used on the filling to harden it and bond it to the tooth completely. After this, it is also polished to much the shine and glare of the natural teeth.