What is a Dental Filling?
A Dental filling is a way to restore a tooth damaged by decay back to its normal function and shape. When a dentist gives you a filling, he or she first removes the decayed tooth material, cleans the affected area, and then fills the cleaned out cavity with a filling material.
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By closing off spaces where bacteria can enter, a filling also helps prevent further decay. Materials used for fillings include gold, porcelain, a composite resin (tooth-colored fillings).
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Painless Long Lasting
Dental Fillings
At Bliss Dental of Las Vegas we use the most reliable
filling material available
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Composite resins are matched to be the same color as your teeth and therefore used where a natural appearance is desired. The ingredients are mixed and placed directly where the cavity was removed, and we harden the filling material with a light. Composites may not be the ideal material for large fillings as they may cause further fractures of the teeth, or may even fracture themselves because fillings are not designed to replace large areas such as missing cusps. They can also become stained from coffee, tea or tobacco, and do not last as long as other types of fillings generally from three to 10 years.
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Porcelain fillings are called inlays are produced to order in a lab and then bonded to the tooth. They can be matched to the color of the tooth and resist staining. A porcelain restoration generally covers most of the tooth. Their cost is similar to gold.
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Gold fillings are made to order in a laboratory and then cemented into place. Gold inlays are well tolerated by gum tissues, and may last more than 20 years. For these reasons, many authorities consider gold the best filling material.