How Many Types of Dental Fillings Are There, and Which Works the Best?

How Many Types of Dental Fillings Are There, and Which Works the Best?

January 1, 2023

Dental hygiene and care have advanced significantly than earlier, but tooth decay has remained stagnant in its position for countless Canadian adults and children. If left untreated or ignored, tooth decay can result in severe dental health problems, including abscessed and lost teeth.

Tooth decay is a preventable condition and is manageable by visiting the dentist in Chantilly, VA, at six monthly intervals for children and adults. The dentist checks for signs of tooth decay and other dental health issues in the mouth to suggest suitable remedies whenever necessary to prevent complications.

During the six monthly visits, dentists take x-rays of the teeth to determine whether the problem of tooth decay affects you on or between your teeth. If they notice any discrepancies, they suggest filling the tooth with appropriate materials best suited to your needs. It is your responsibility to receive the treatment when indicated by the dentist to prevent aggravation of the condition from making you vulnerable to receiving intensive treatments like root canals and getting dental crowns on your teeth at high prices.

When your dentist suggests filling a cavity, you might wonder which type of dental filler best suits your needs. It helps if you understand the dentist is the optimal professional to determine which one of the different types of dental fillings is best for your affected tooth after considering your budget and dental health.

When selecting dental fillers, you must consider factors like the cavity’s location, the decay’s severity, the material’s cost, your insurance coverage, et cetera. However, for your information, cavity fillers are available in gold, silver amalgam, composite resin, ceramic, and glass ionomers. Below is a description of different fillers to help you understand how to choose the material for the hole in your tooth.

  • Gold Fillers: Gold fillings for teeth are incredibly durable, noncorrosive and durable. They remain in your teeth for approximately 15 years with proper dental hygiene. The primary drawback of gold fillers is their higher price and the multiple appointments needed with dentists to restore your tooth with them. In addition, gold fillers are not aesthetically pleasing.
  • Silver Amalgam Fillings: If you need a hole in your molars restored with affordable fillers, silver amalgam fillings best suit your needs. Although they are not aesthetically pleasing, they are suitable for the back teeth because of their strength and durability. You might worry about the mercury content in silver fillings, but the FDA approves the fillers as suitable for restoring cavities.
  • Composite Resin: cavities on and between your front teeth are best restored with composite resin fillers because they are aesthetic and durable. Composite resin fillers cost more than silver amalgam and are less durable, lasting merely for five to seven years.
  • Ceramic Fillings: if you want an aesthetically pleasing option with durability for your anterior or posterior teeth, ceramic fillings are an option you can consider. However, porcelain helps make ceramic fillings that wear down the opposing teeth when the porcelain roughens.
  • Glass Ionomers: alternatively called acrylic fillings, glass ionomers often last fewer than five years but are excellent for children with developing teeth. Glass ionomers release fluoride to help prevent tooth decay by strengthening the enamel.

You might need help determining which filler is appropriate for cavities in your teeth. Therefore you find it beneficial to rely on the dentist’s expertise providing dental fillings in Chantilly, VA, when getting your decayed tooth restored to receive the optimal filler.

Dentists are experts in providing dental fillers and know which filling material best suits a specific tooth. For example, if you decide on the filling material based on durability and affordability, you might consider having silver amalgam fillings on your front teeth or decide on ceramic fillings for your molars. While the eventual choice of the filling material depends on your preference because the filling materials help restore any teeth damaged by decay, you must also consider aesthetics to select a filling material best suited for the specific tooth.

Every dental filler helps restore decayed and damaged teeth. However, the choice of the filling material determines how long it remains in your tooth or affects your appearance. Therefore you must rely on the Chantilly dentist to provide excellent fillers for your teeth to benefit from them as best as possible.

If you have a decayed tooth or teeth, kindly consult Chantilly Dental Arts Center for the most appropriate filler to restore your tooth. Rest assured, you will receive appropriate filling materials for the tooth or teeth that remain with you for as long as possible without impacting your appearance.

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