Tooth-Colored Fillings – Schenectady, NY
We Can Seamlessly Heal Your Smile
One of the most important reasons to schedule regular checkups with your dentist in Schenectady, NY is so they can examine your teeth for early signs of cavities. From there, we can place fillings to prevent the problem from getting worse and requiring more extensive treatment down the road. In the old days, your only option for repairing cavities was to get a piece of metal placed in your tooth, resulting in noticeable discoloration in your smile. These days, though, we can seamlessly heal your smile with tooth-colored fillings instead. Keep reading below to learn more about tooth-colored fillings and how they can benefit you.
Why Choose Oshins of Smiles for Tooth-Colored Fillings?
- New State-of-the-Art Dental Office
- Blend in with Your Unique Smile
- Offer Multiple Oral Health Benefits
What Are Tooth-Colored Fillings?
Tooth-colored fillings are a restorative treatment that involves using composite resin to repair teeth that have been damaged by decay. Composite resin is a malleable material that closely resembles a putty. Perhaps its best aspect is its ability to be customized to blend in with your existing tooth enamel, creating aesthetically pleasing results. Getting tooth-colored fillings is also a much quicker and easier procedure than the one required to place metal fillings. In addition, composite resin offers a whole host of oral health benefits that metal fillings simply cannot deliver.
The Tooth-Colored Fillings Procedure
Our very own Dr. Steven Oshins can perform the tooth-colored fillings procedure right here in our Schenectady office in just one appointment. First, he will administer a local anesthetic so that your mouth is nice and numb, maximizing your comfort and ensuring you feel no discomfort during the procedure. Next, he will use a shade guide to determine the exact shade of composite resin that’s needed to blend in with the rest of your smile.
Once you’re numbed up, our team removes the decayed portions of your enamel. The tooth is lightly etched with an acidic gel to help the composite resin better bond to it. The resin is then applied layer by layer until the cavity is filled and the tooth is built up to its full structure. A special ultraviolet curing light is used to harden the material into place within seconds. Lastly, the tooth is polished to help it resemble a natural part of your smile. In most cases, this simple procedure can be completed in an hour or less!
Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings Compared to Metal Fillings
Tooth-colored fillings come with several advantages over traditional metal fillings, including:
- Cosmetic superiority. Metal fillings can seep into your enamel, resulting in permanent gray discoloration, while tooth-colored fillings are designed to mimic the exact shade of your tooth.
- Less sensitivity. The sensitive inner portion of the tooth, which contains the nerves, isn’t effectively blocked off by metal fillings. Composite resin directly bonds to the tooth, sealing out this area and resulting in less sensitivity to hot and cold stimuli.
- More conservative treatment. With metal fillings, more enamel had to be carved out to make room for the restoration. Because tooth-colored fillings form a bond with the enamel itself, less of it has to be removed, allowing you to retain more of your natural tooth structure for longer.
If you have an old metal filling that you’d like to get replaced with a tooth-colored one, give us a call today. We look forward to helping you achieve a healthier smile!