White Tooth Fillings

white tooth fillings

No Mercury, Less Noticeable

Tooth-colored fillings are made from durable plastics called composite resins. Similar in color and texture to natural teeth, the fillings are less noticeable, and much more attractive, than other types of fillings

Edmonds Cosmetic Dentistry

(White) Tooth-Colored Fillings

White Fillings, or Tooth-Colored Fillings, are dental fillings that restore and mimic the appearance of your natural tooth. With teeth that have a cavity, fracture or decay, tooth-colored fillings can be used cosmetically to change the color, size, and shape of your teeth.

Similiar to dental bonding, this option can close gaps between teeth, repair chipped teeth and make teeth appear to be more straight or even. Not only do our patients prefer the absence of metal color on their teeth, they prefer the reassurance of non-amalgam materials used in their dental restorations.

Advantages of Tooth Colored Fillings

  • They closely match natural tooth color and appearance.
  • They do not contain mercury.
  • They bond to the tooth structure chemically and do not require the placement of slots, grooves or pins in healthy tooth structure to mechanically retain them.
  • The bonding of white fillings to your teeth restore most of the original strength of the tooth.
  • They may be used on front and back teeth without compromising aesthetics.
  • If damaged, they can be repaired.

Most Tooth-Colored Fillings (White Fillings) Are Composite Resin Fillings

Tooth-colored fillings were first introduced to the American public in the mid 1960’s. Since that time, tooth colored filling materials have undergone continual improvements in durability, esthetics and material handling. The most versatile and widely used tooth-colored filling today is made of a composite resin. A composite is a material in which filler particles are encased in and bound together by a hard matrix material. For composite resin fillings, a fluid matrix of an acrylic, called BIS-GMA, is hardened around glass filler particles to form a composite resin.

How Are Composite Resin Fillings Placed?

Tooth-colored composite fillings are easily chemically bonded to your teeth. For this reason, the placement of white fillings does not always require numbing the area being restored. Numbing (anesthetizing) the area is often required if tooth decay has progressed beneath the enamel layer and into the underlying dentin layer which surrounds the nerve of the tooth.

Once any and all decay is removed, the tooth is cleaned and a tooth primer is applied to the area being restored. The primer opens the pores in the enamel and dentin. A bonding agent is then applied to the open pores and cured. The curing process prepares the bonding agent to adhere to the tooth-colored filling material. The filling material is then placed inside the tooth. After shaping the tooth-colored filling material to resemble the natural anatomy of your tooth, it is hardened with a strong curing light. Once the filling hardens, your bite will be checked to make sure your teeth fit together properly. If the tooth filling extends into the space between your teeth, your dentist will also make sure there is room to floss between your teeth properly. Bite fit and adjustments will be made, if necessary, followed by the smoothing and polishing of your new filling.

At Distinctive Dentistry, we have chosen not to use (mercury) amalgam fillings at our office.

What is the best choice for white tooth fillings?

When it comes to selecting the best material for you and your particular needs, consultation with your dentist is key. Strength, aesthetics, cost, and longevity of dental filling materials may vary greatly in different situations and for different patients. Some of the considerations your dentist takes into account when recommending a particular filling material for your teeth are the current condition of the teeth, the size of the restoration area, the location of the teeth involved and the forces (chewing, shearing, grinding, etc.) being placed on the teeth during chewing and other normal movements of your jaw.

To find out more about white tooth fillings, contact our office today.