In an earlier post we shared a brief video clip about the composite, tooth-colored dental fillings that we feature at our North Carolina dentist’s office (with locations all over the Research Triangle). Today, we’d like to revisit that topic and provide you with a little more information about this great restorative dentistry solution. Keep reading and then be sure to get in-touch to schedule your next appointment with Dr. Vice and the Sunrise Dental team!

Tooth-Colored Dental Fillings Are Your Best Bet

For many years, dentists in Raleigh, NC (and everywhere else) have used a mix of mercury and other metals called amalgam for fillings. If you ever had a filling prior to the last few years, you are probably well acquainted with this style.

Truth be told, the effectiveness of these treatments has never been in question. Still, there have been some very real complaints about the metal itself. For starters, amalgam is anything but discreet and so it looks like a dark metallic blotch on your otherwise pretty white teeth. More than that, the old-style of fillings can actually make your tooth more vulnerable to fracture and cause damage to the nearby healthy tooth structures. Nobody has time for that!

That is why, at our practice, we now use a newer, safer, and more aesthetically-pleasing material for fillings: composite.

Composite consists of a blend of resins that lends itself well to the appearance of your natural teeth. Unlike metal, they will look and feel like they actually belong in your mouth. Hence the name tooth-colored dental fillings!

That means we can now fill a cavity in a way that won’t draw unwanted attention to your mouth and the composite resin we use will also have superior bonding properties that allow for increased longevity.

How It Works

Here’s the deal: when you come in for a tooth-colored dental fillings treatment, we will start out by numbing the relevant region of your mouth. And if you are anxious about the procedure, we can explore options for relaxing the rest of your body.

Then, we can clean the cavity by removing the decayed tissue. After the cavity has been cleared, we will apply the putty-like composite resin material in thin layers. We will be able to shape these layers to match the surface of your tooth.

Finally, our Sunrise Dental team will harden the resin with a high-intensity light and polish it to match the shade of your teeth. That’s all there is to it. Then you’ll be able to take your restored health, and your refurbished smile home with you!

No Need To Fear!

Even though the tooth-colored dental fillings procedure is easy, it can cause some anxiety, especially in children. To help our more nervous patients, we can offer two different types of dental sedation: nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation. While we use oral sedation for more complicated procedures or very fearful adult patients, nitrous oxide is safe for all ages and is especially great for nervous kids!

Let Us Save Your Smile!

We hope this information has been helpful. If you think that you might have some level of decay and wish to take care of it with tooth-colored dental fillings, contact us ASAP!