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White Fillings
There are many types of filling materials available, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Composite filling is the most widely used today. Because composite fillings are tooth colored, they can be perfectly matched to the color of existing teeth.
Composite is generally suitable for many applications, it can fill in gaps and chips and can also be used to hide discolouration. It is a conservative way to fix cosmetic problems, offering the additional benefit that it does not require the removal of any of the natural tooth surface. More over it is cost effective too.
Tooth-coloured composite material is especially used when cavities or decay requires that a tooth be filled. Whereas silver and mercury amalgam were used before, today, these natural, white fillings are far more aesthetically pleasing because making the dental work virtually undetectable.
Moreover, white fillings are stronger and more durable than silver amalgam. Whether you need a new filling or would like to replace an old silver filling with the new tooth-coloured variety, Dr Fedele can help.
Ceramic as a filling material meets the same requirements as composite. Additionally, the abrasion tendency is smaller and the material does not shrink during preparation, which is naturally extremely positive when working on larger fillings.
Two ways of producing ceramic fillings:
The CAD-cut ceramic filing (construction on the computer screen once a photographic image has been made) only has one original colour, and is not visible at speaking distance. These cut fillings are technically very homogenous, as they are industrially manufactured.
Ceramic fillings which are produced in a laboratory are optimal in colour, but nevertheless do not possess the same high physical characteristics of the laser cut fillings.
The existing and structurally necessary gap between ceramic and tooth is cemented, (as with composite) permanently.
The Difference
Amalgam (metallic silver gray to black) was first mentioned in medical books in 1826. Up until 15 years ago amalgam was the standard filling material used, but then came under attack because of its high content of mercury. This material has been replaced, not only because of the often heard health risks associated with its use, but also because of the mid-term unsatisfactory water-tightness and air-tightness of the filling edges, the unsatisfactory stabilization of the tooth substance and the corrosion risks.
The only advantage lies in the relative simplicity of use, with a high level of error tolerance, because inexactness while filling will eventually be corrected by the production of corrosion which will fill the cracks.
Gold fillings (inlays) fulfil the needs of long-lasting reconstruction. The manufacture of the inlay requires the use of a technical dental laboratory since the filling is constructed on the basis of a model taken from an impression. The use of gold fillings requires that the tooth be drilled deeper and involves, in comparison to composite or ceramic, a greater loss of natural tooth substance.