High-Quality White Composite Fillings for a Natural Smile
Dental fillings are essentially a part of life; despite a patient’s best efforts with proper dental hygiene, there can be circumstances that result in some tooth decay. An important factor in these cases is early detection, done through routine dental check-ups, so that we can fill the cavity and prevent more extensive tooth damage and more expensive treatment.
At Family Dental Care, we use composite fillings, commonly known as white fillings, to restore decaying teeth. This advancement in technology from the traditional silver-coloured or metal fillings allows us to fully match the colour of your fillings to that of your teeth, such that it is almost impossible to tell the natural part of the tooth from the filling.
This progression from traditional amalgams to white composite filling offers several advantages to our patients, consisting of the following:
- Aesthetics – closely matched tooth colour and appearance
- Protecting/preventing teeth from further cracking/breaking
- Restores 85-90% of the original strength of the natural tooth
- Harden completely much faster than other types of materials
- Bonded to the tooth – spares additional tooth preparation steps
- Minimal to no tooth sensitivity (any such response is usually brief)
- White fillings can be repaired should they happen to become damaged
- Numbing, or anaesthesia, may not be needed (based on depth of cavity)
- Material is mercury-free
Once your white fillings are in place, there are some precautions you should take to extend their lifespan and protect your investment. Some important points for your awareness are:
- May stain with frequent or ongoing exposure to coffee, tea, red wine, or foods with dyes
- Can degrade with frequent or ongoing exposure to liquids that have high alcohol content
Initially, white fillings were often restricted to the front teeth (incisors) and the teeth located on each side of the upper and lower jaws (bicuspids); however, advances over the last 10 to 20 years have significantly improved the overall strength of these fillings and they are now used in the back teeth (molars) where greater force is applied in grinding and chewing food.
Flexible Treatment Options and Cost Savings with White Composite Filling
In addition to the direct benefits of white fillings as indicated above, these improvements in modern dental techniques offer flexibility in terms of treatment options and costs. Based on a patient’s particular situation, our Family Dental Care team may recommend white composite filling
as a cost-effective alternative to:
- Dental crowns/caps
- Extensive tooth repairs/rebuilds
- Tooth removal
Routine dental check-ups play an important role in the prevention and identification of tooth decay. Detecting a cavity in its early stages, and treating it quickly with a white filling, will avoid more extensive and costly dental treatment. Call the Family Dental Care team at 613-736-5000 or contact us to request a dental check-up and to obtain more information on the many advantages of white fillings.