If you have a cavity, a dental filling is the quickest solution to protect and restore your tooth. At Blue Palm Dentistry in Wilton Manors, Florida, board-certified cosmetic and general dentist Davide Gottardi, DMD, offers tooth-colored fillings. These fillings are safe, effective, and natural-looking. They blend in with the rest of your teeth.
Dental Fillings Q & A
What are dental fillings?
Dental fillings are restorations that protect and strengthen decayed teeth. They can also repair minor chips and cracks in your smile.
What can dental fillings repair?
Dr. Gottardi recommends dental fillings to repair decayed teeth. After removing the decayed portion, he rebuilds your tooth with a filling. He may also recommend a dental filling to repair:
- Chipped teeth
- Cracked or broken teeth
- Gapped teeth
- Wear-and-tear from teeth grinding
If you want to repair tooth damage, Dr. Gottardi can restore your smile with a composite filling.
How are dental fillings placed?
Before Dr. Gottardi places your filling, he administers a local anesthetic and removes any decay from your tooth. When placing an amalgam filling, he shapes the tooth to make room for the filling. Then, he places the filling and cements it in place to restore and protect your tooth.
Placing a tooth-colored filling takes a few extra steps. After removing your decay, Dr. Gottardi may remove a small portion of your hard tooth enamel to create a smoother surface for your filling. Then, he applies the composite resin in layers. After each layer, he hardens the material with a special curing light. He applies as many layers as needed until your tooth is restored.
Dental fillings protect your teeth from new decay. To learn more, call Blue Palm Dentistry or schedule an appointment online today.
What are the types of dental fillings?
There are many types of fillings to choose from, but the two most popular are:
Amalgam fillings
Also called silver fillings, amalgam fillings are made with blended metals. These traditional fillings are strong, durable, and affordable.
However, they’re also dark and distinct in appearance. That’s why amalgam fillings are more common treatments for teeth in the back of your mouth, where they aren’t visible.
When preparing your tooth for an amalgam filling, Dr. Gottardi has to remove part of the healthy tooth structure.
Tooth-colored fillings
At Blue Palm Dentistry, Dr. Gottardi offers tooth-colored fillings that he can color to match the natural shade of your teeth. White fillings are attractive and natural-looking. They also adhere to the chewing surfaces of your teeth better than amalgam fillings.
Since tooth-colored fillings contain composite resin — a liquid bonding material — Dr. Gottardi doesn’t have to remove much, if any, of your healthy tooth structure.