A Closer Look at Composite Fillings: Benefits and Long-Term Effects

The Buffalo Grove dentist and their team of restorative specialists offer a comprehensive approach to repair and restore tooth cavities and damage, through composite fillings. These are popular restorations since they offer a cascade of compelling benefits. Let’s find out more about them.

A comprehensive guide to composites

A composite filling comprises a blend of plastic resin and powdered glass filler, utilized in dentistry to restore decayed, cracked, or fractured tooth surfaces. After being placed onto the cleaned and prepared tooth surface, it undergoes polymerization, a hardening process facilitated by a specialized light-cured adhesive. These fillings serve both functional and aesthetic purposes, aiding in the restoration of lost tooth structure.

Composite fillings are helpful to restore:

Chipped or cracked teeth
Teeth with diastema (space or gaps in between your teeth)
Dental decay in the visible areas of your mouth
Teeth that are worn out due to attrition (aging), increased masticatory forces, or bruxism (involuntary, persistent clenching and grinding of the teeth)

Exploring the benefits of composites

Composite fillings are often preferred by dentists worldwide since they offer several benefits:

They are aesthetically superior

Composite fillings are tooth-colored restorations and easily blend with your natural tooth structure offering superior aesthetics.

Composites directly bond to the tooth enamel

Composite fillings bond directly to the enamel surface through microblogging and polymerization, thus establishing a stronger seal.

Composites do not contain mercury

Mercury is toxic and can harm the body when ingested. Unlike amalgam restorations, composite fillings do not contain mercury.

Composite restoration is a quick procedure

Composite fillings are quick and painless procedures that usually take 10 to 15 minutes.

They preserve the natural tooth structure

Composite fillings do not require extensive tooth preparation. This preserves most of the tooth structure, integrity, strength, and resilience.

They effectively protect from dental caries

Composite fillings contain fluorides that help prevent the development of caries in the future. Fluorides reverse tooth decay by a process called remineralization.

They are stain-resistant

The resin in composite filling does not stain the teeth, making it stain-resistant.

They offer excellent durability and strength

The composite material hardens through polymerization, improving composites’ strength and resilience.

Tooth-colored composite fillings are resilient and increasingly favored in contemporary dentistry, replacing traditional amalgam restorations due to multiple advantages. Consider these aesthetic fillings to revive and enhance your oral health. Consult your dentist to ascertain if composite fillings align with your oral health needs!