What is Aesthetic Composite Filling?
Amalgam fillings, usually known as black fillings or metal fillings, have been used successfully for nearly a hundred years. However, in recent decades, it has left its usage area to aesthetic composite filling Application.
Caries (tooth decay), one of the oldest diseases in human history, has been tried to be treated with many different techniques and materials.
Many materials from precious metals such as gold and platinum to metal compounds such as amalgam have been used in this field. However, filling materials are constantly developing and updated in line with the renewed needs of modernising people and the data of scientific studies.
The most preferred fillings in today’s dentistry are made using materials that can adapt to tooth colour and physical properties. These materials usually include combinations of ingredients such as composite resins, ceramic and zirconia fillers.
The ingredients and production technologies of aesthetic composite fillings determine their durability, aesthetics and lifespan. Yet, the best aesthetic filling materials give unsuccessful results in unsuitable cases and with inadequate techniques.
Because these materials do not require fluids such as saliva and blood during application; they are also products that must be applied to the tooth in layers with sensitive methods. Aesthetic filling materials applied intertwined with fluids from the gums give results that are not aesthetic at all.
In What Cases Composite Fillings Used?
- Treatment of caries on the chewing surfaces of the teeth
- Treatment of caries at the interfaces of the teeth
Treatment of tooth decay or abrasions in the neck area near the gums - Treatment of caries on the cheek or palatal side of the teeth
- Treatment of tooth fractures and cracks involving the enamel and dentin layers of the teeth
- Treatment of root canal treated teeth without excessive damage
- Small-scale aesthetic problems such as cracks, fractures and gaps in the front teeth can be treated with aesthetic composite fillings.
How Long Do Composite Fillings Last?
Aesthetic composite filling technology; It is a field that is being renewed and on which studies continue. Composite fillers are constantly updated both in terms of material and application methods.
For this reason, we physicians need to follow the products available in the market well and integrate into this renewal process correctly. As it may be inconvenient to use the same materials for years without changing them because we are used to them, it may also carry some drawbacks to use every new product in the clinic with the idea that it is better.
However, it should be noted that the composite fillers we use today have many advantages over the forms they first appeared in in:
- Aesthetic improvements (colour options, transparency options, colour stability and polishability have improved).
- Durability (The form, size and volume ratio of the particles they contain, which are closely related to durability, have been optimised).
- Volume shrinkage rates during application are minimised.
- Adhesive bonding technology has been developed to provide a tooth-filling connection during their application to the tooth.
- Intraoral techniques for practitioners have been updated.
- The technologies of light devices that provide polymerisation (hardening of the filling) have been renewed.
As a result of all these developments, the service life of composite fillings has also increased. However, it is important to remember that the lifespan of the filling is affected by the patient’s daily oral care factors as well as being well-made.
For this reason, our team does not consider it appropriate to give lifetime information about these fillings. However, it can be ensured that the problems that may occur in our patients who do not interrupt their regular controls can be recognised and prevented early.
Is Composite Filling Harmful?
In recent years, due to the mercury in the content of the amalgam filling, the holistic dentistry movement strongly advocates its removal from practice. Instead of amalgam fillings, composite fillings are recommended. In this case it could be said that composite fillings are healthier option.
Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Erdem Kaya, at Lotus Dental, and his team replace your amalgam fillings that need to be replaced with composite fillings with the help of the technical equipment needed.
The replacement of your existing amalgam fillings with aesthetic white composite fillings is carried out safely at Lotus Dental Clinic.
Lotus Dental: Aesthetic Composite Filling
At Lotus Dental, all physicians apply new generation composite fillings using effective isolation methods during aesthetic filling procedures.
Our team does not prefer composite-based aesthetic fillings that are applied directly in the mouth in teeth with excessive damage that exceed the limit of suitability of aesthetic fillings.
We prefer indirect filling techniques in these types of teeth with high tissue loss due to caries, fractures, etc.
You can examine the indirect restorations called inlays and onlays, which we have been producing in our clinic with digital scanning and CAD-CAM engraving methods since 2012, in more detail in the digital dental fillings section.
