Tooth-Colored Fillings

In addition to porcelain dental crowns and dental bonding, we at Omega Dental Clinic are pleased to offer tooth-colored fillings at our cosmetic dentistry practice. Tooth colored fillings are an outstanding alternative to traditional silver and amalgam fillings. Not only do they look and feel more like your natural teeth, but technological advancements have also made them harder wearing and longer lasting. A small filling may never require repair, while larger fillings should last for many years with proper maintenance. Moreover, tooth colored fillings function exactly like your natural teeth, allowing you to eat and speak and smile with complete confidence.

Bonding

This is among the easiest and least expensive of cosmetic dental procedures. If a tooth is chipped, fractured, or discolored or if there's a gap between adjoining teeth, your dentist can apply a tooth-colored composite resin, which can be shaped and polished to match the surrounding teeth.Even if you're lucky enough to have straight teeth, the small imperfections, such as gaps or dingy stains and damaged areas, can be repaired by applying a "paste" made of composite resin. The resin comes in a wide variety of shades. It hardens almost instantly when it's exposed to a special blue light and it can be sanded, smoothed, and buffed until it exactly matches the tooth shine. Bonding may also be used to protect a portion of the tooth's root that has been exposed when gums recede, for example - as a cosmetic alternative to amalgam fillings.

Dental bonding involves the placement of a strong tooth-colored resin material directly onto the tooth. This dental bonding material is completely pliable until exposed to a high-intensity blue light that causes it to harden. The entire process can usually be completed in a single office visit.

Unlike veneers, which are manufactured in a laboratory and require a customized mold to achieve a proper fit, bonding can be done in a single visit. The procedure is called bonding because the material, used to attach the composite resin to the tooth, will bond in one visit. Because the composite material is applied directly to the teeth, it's sometimes called direct composite compared to indirect bonding where a dental laboratory manufactures the composite resin inlay or onlay.

What the Procedure Involves

Currently, bonding is a very versatile procedure that can be used to repair cavities or improve cosmetic appearances.
Your dentist will use a shade guide to select the composite resin color that will most closely match the color of the tooth.
Once your dentist has chosen the color, he or she will slightly abrade or etch the surface of the tooth. The tooth will be lightly coated with a conditioning liquid, which helps the bonding material adhere.
Once the tooth is prepared, your dentist will apply the tooth-colored, putty-like resin. The resin is molded and smoothed until it's the proper shape. Then the material is hardened with a high-intensity light.