Restore your teeth with white fillings in Loughton
Fillings help restore damaged teeth to their normal function, while they also prevent further decay and deterioration. While nowadays there are many types of fillings available, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, composite white fillings and amalgam fillings are the most common.
Forest Dental in Loughton is a mercury-free practice, meaning that all of our fillings are composite, tooth-coloured or white fillings that blend with the natural colour of your teeth. While amalgam fillings are safe to use, white composite fillings are more stable, because they distribute chewing force evenly, and are more aesthetically pleasing. If you wish, we can remove your old metal amalgam fillings and replace them with tooth-coloured composite ones.
How are teeth filled with composite fillings?
White filings are very versatile since they can be used in the front or the back of your mouth. They are natural looking and restore strength and function to damaged teeth. Your dentist can build up cracked or chipped teeth with a white filing to restore each tooth to its original look and feel or, it can alternatively be used to close gaps, reshape uneven or short teeth and fill cavities caused by tooth decay.
Following a small preparation, your dentist will place the composite material in layers with the aid of a special adhesive and a light that accelerates bonding. When the process is finished, the dentist will sculpt the filling to fit the contours of your tooth. Finally, the filling will be polished in order to prevent staining and early wear.
At Forest Dental, our white fillings are available in a wide range of shades that blend naturally into the rest of your smile.
Advantages of white fillings
Generally, tooth coloured fillings are more aesthetically pleasing since they match your natural tooth colour and appearance. Unlike amalgam fillings, they are minimally invasive and require less drilling, therefore not as much tooth structure needs to be removed. More importantly, because they are made of composite material, they harden in seconds. Moreover, white fillings bond to the tooth providing extra strength and resilience. Finally, compared to other tooth-coloured materials such as porcelain, composite fillings are more affordable and offer a considerable improvement over metal fillings.