The beauty of tooth-colored dental fillings in Charlotte, NC, is that they don’t look like traditional fillings. Instead, they are aesthetically matched to your tooth color, making them virtually invisible.
In the past, dentists relied on silver amalgam fillings to treat tooth decay, but modern dentists use white composite.
What Are Composite Tooth Fillings?
Tooth-colored fillings contain powdered glass, silica, or ceramic mixed into the resin. The resin is spreadable, allowing your dentist to fill a treated tooth, clear away any overhang, and harden the composite with a dental light.
Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings
With tooth-colored fillings, your dentist removes less tooth material than the amalgam variety. This means more of your healthy tooth structure remains. Additionally, amalgam fillings react to hot and cold, contracting and expanding. This can leave discoloration around the fillings. Composite filling material tends to stay in place.
Finally, tooth-colored fillings are simply more aesthetically appealing compared with amalgam.
Composite Fillings Offer Peace of Mind
Amalgam fillings typically contain a bit of mercury—an amount deemed safe through studies and research. But some patients are sensitive to mercury. Mercury-free fillings make you feel better about your restorations, giving you peace of mind.
Tooth-Colored Filling Material in Cosmetic Dentistry
Besides filling cavities, the tooth-colored filling material can conceal tooth flaws in a method called dental bonding.
With dental bonding, your dentist applies the composite to the tooth or teeth you’d like to treat. Because the material is malleable, we can use it to sculpt, conceal, and fill various tooth flaws. After covering the imperfection, we set the result with a special dental light.
Dental bonding can hide the following cosmetic issues:
- Cosmetic tooth chips and cracks
- Minor shape abnormalities
- Stubborn tooth discoloration
- Small gaps between teeth
Dental bonding in Charlotte, NC, is inexpensive, noninvasive, and can often be completed during a single dental office visit. You can bring bonding into a full smile makeover, incorporating veneers, dental implants, and other options, or use it alone to boost your smile aesthetics.
Lowering Your Risks for Tooth Decay
The only things better than tooth-colored fillings are no cavities at all!
We encourage you to visit your Charlotte dentist every six months to mitigate cavity risks. We provide a thorough dental exam and teeth cleaning during these preventive visits.
Your dental exam means detecting cavities early. And it is always better to treat minor cavities than more significant areas of decay. This is because small cavities leave more of your natural tooth intact. On the other hand, large cavities threaten tooth stability and may mean extraction over treatment in severe cases.
Your dental checkup also includes the following:
- A visual exam of the teeth and gums
- Periodic x-rays to diagnose underlying conditions
- An oral cancer screening for early detection
- A periodontal check for gum health
Your dentist may recommend further preventive treatments like fluoride applications or dental sealants to reinforce your enamel and lock food particles away from the teeth.
Professional teeth cleanings rid your teeth of the ingredients that cause decay and enamel erosion, specifically stubborn tartar. Unfortunately, your toothbrush is not enough to clean your teeth thoroughly. Instead, a hygienist relies on special tools to reach tight spaces and eradicate the build-up.
Remember, cavities are not typically noticeable when smiling in the mirror. In rare cases, you may notice a spot on a tooth, but cavities often appear between teeth and in hard-to-see areas. This is one of the reasons regular dental checkups are so important. Unfortunately, you cannot diagnose a cavity or other oral health condition alone.
For your part, we encourage you to brush and floss your teeth at least twice daily or after meals. And consistently report oral changes to your dentist, including tooth sensitivity and sores that do not heal.
Nutrition also plays a role in the development of tooth decay. We recommend limiting sugary and acidic foods and drinks from your diet. Try replacing these snacks with healthy veggies, nuts, and strawberries.
For Tooth-Colored Fillings in Charlotte, NC, Contact Us
If you have not been to the dentist lately or suspect an oral health issue, we encourage you to reach out to a team member to book your next preventive checkup. And always reach out if you have questions.
We are proud to work with third-party financing through CareCredit. And we have our own in-house savings plan. As a result, you can receive preventive dental care and significant savings on select treatments for a low annual fee. Ask a team member about limits and exclusions. Additionally, we offer periodic dental specials to help make your dentistry more affordable.
We proudly serve all areas through our two Charlotte dental practices, including Charlotte, Pineville, Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Belmont, Steele Creek, Myers Park, Cotswold, Elizabeth, Dilworth, and your neighborhood.