A Look at What Makes a Tooth-Colored Filling

If you’ve ever had a cavity, then chances are you’ve dealt with it by receiving a filling to restore your tooth. In fact, cavities are so common that you may know exactly what a filling is even if you’ve never needed one. However, despite being common, today’s tooth fillings can often do more than people realize at first. For example, at our Pella, IA, dental office, we can design a tooth-colored filling that not only treats your cavity, but also blends in with your smile in ways that traditional metal fillings aren’t able to accomplish.

What the filling is made from

For people who haven’t received one, the fact that today’s fillings are tooth-colored can be somewhat of a surprise. That’s because, traditionally, fillings have been made from metal amalgam, which is a mixture of different trace metals that looks exactly like metal. Instead, today’s fillings are often made from tooth-colored composite resin, which is a blend of finely-ground acrylic and quartz-like particles. Unlike metal, the resin can be tinted to match the unique color and shade of your tooth, giving it a more discreet and cosmetic appearance as well as offering more biocompatible treatment for your tooth.

How your tooth benefits from it

Blending in with your tooth’s appearance is one of the most notable benefits of a tooth-colored filling. Instead of shining noticeably like metal, the filling will remain virtually undetectable when you speak and smile. However, the benefits to your tooth and oral health that resin can provide compared to metal are also important, though sometimes less obvious. For instance, composite resin blends more securely to your tooth structure, which offers optimal protection for the tooth against oral bacteria and further infection. The resin also retains its shape long after it’s been placed, unlike metal, which can change shape and potentially damage your healthy tooth structure.

How you can improve your current filling

If you’ve already received a metal filling in one of your teeth, then the benefits of a tooth-colored filling might not seem important since your tooth is already restored. However, having a metal filling in your tooth means you may benefit even more from upgrading it to a more current tooth-colored one. After carefully removing the metal from your tooth, we can ensure that no bacteria or infection has entered the cavity. Then, we can place the tooth-colored composite resin to fill the cavity more discreetly.

Benefit from a tooth-colored filling

What makes a tooth-colored filling great for treating cavities isn’t just its natural appearance, but also its ability to protect the tooth long-term. To learn more, schedule an appointment with us by calling Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, IA, today at (641) 628-1121.