All That You Need to Know About Dental Fillings (Part 6)
Allow me to continue with the discussion on the different materials used for dental fillings.
One of the materials used in the dental fillings is called a composite resin.
A composite resin material is a filling that can be reshaped and cured using a special light.
It is also available for use in filling up the gaps and holes in one’s teeth as it is properly colored to blend with the rest of the teeth.
Composite teeth fillings are used to match with the color and shade of natural teeth. This material is particularly useful to the visible parts of the teeth, such as your incisors, canines, and some molars.
Likewise, composite resin materials are capable of chemically bonding to the tooth, which provide additional grip support which gold and silver fillings are unable to give.
These fillings are used to repair worn, broken, or chipped teeth aside from being used as filling material for tooth decay and cavities. It also spares your tooth from extensive destruction because less enamel and dentin need to be removed.
The dentist usually will remove the decayed portions of the tooth.
The disadvantage of composite resin is that the fillings may wear out easier than gold or silver amalgam. It would be outstanding if a composite resin material will last for a decade or more. They also break easier under the pressure of biting and chewing when a patient eats. Composite resin materials are not ideal to be used for large cavities.
It takes a lot of time before composite resin materials to be properly installed.
Also, additional visits might be needed if there is a need of putting in inlays or onlays.
If the tooth is mostly intact, this is the material that is perfect to use. Composite resin materials are more expensive than gold or silver amalgam.
Additionally, there are other types of fillings available aside from composite resin fillings. They include ceramic fillings and glass ionomer fillings.
We will talk about the other filling materials in next week’s column.