Tooth-Colored Fillings – Albuquerque, NM
A Seamless Solution for Tooth Decay
If you have tooth decay or cavities, your smile will suffer. After all, both conditions wear your enamel and turn your teeth brown. That said, you can do better than unhealthy amalgam fillings as a solution. Instead, opt for a superior option – tooth-colored fillings! These restorations protect your teeth and help their looks. To learn more, keep reading below or book a consultation at our office.
What Are Tooth-Colored Fillings?
Fillings are artificial materials that repair or restore teeth. In particular, they “fill” holes left by decay, cavities, and other dental damage. Doing so keeps a tooth safe from further bacterial harm.
Naturally enough, tooth-colored fillings are ones color-matched to enamel. As such, they’re very subtle and blend seamlessly with your smile. Most patients, in fact, can’t tell them apart from other teeth.
To enable such results, labs make these fillings with composite resin – a mixture of plastic and glass particles. The materials are thus metal-free and lack the risks of amalgams. Composite resin, for instance, doesn’t cause allergies like silver or gold fillings might.
The Process of Getting a Tooth-Colored Filling
Fortunately, getting a tooth-colored filling doesn’t take that long. Treatment usually just involves a one-hour dental visit.
The procedure itself, meanwhile, is simple. It starts with the dentist numbing your mouth, which ensures the filling process isn’t painful. From there, they’ll remove your decayed enamel and clean the tooth’s interior. Afterward, the dentist will apply the actual filling, adding layers until your lost enamel is basically restored.
As the visit wraps up, our team will add some finishing touches to the results. Specifically, they’ll harden, sculpt, and polish the filling. When that’s done, your tooth will be ready and healthy!
The Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings
When you get tooth-colored fillings in Albuquerque, you can expect several perks. These include the following:
- A Natural-Looking Result – The resin in tooth-colored fillings is custom-shaded, so it blends seamlessly with other teeth. Even better, it won’t cause the tooth’s surrounding area to turn gray like metal fillings often do.
- Preserved Tooth Structure – Compared to metal fillings, tooth-colored ones remove less enamel. As a result, they maintain more of your natural tooth structure.
- Reduced Sensitivity – Composite resin more effectively shields the nerves in your tooth’s center. Consequently, it protects you from aggravating stimuli. (In contrast, metal fillings expand and contract at hot or cold temperatures, worsening sensitivity.)
- Better Oral Health – Tooth-colored fillings don’t trigger metal allergies. Similarly, they don’t expand or contract in ways that risk chips, cracks, and fractures.
- High Durability – These fillings can last up to seven years with proper care. They also require little maintenance, only needing basic brushing, flossing, and routine dental visits.