Fillings & Fissure sealants

admin ♦ June 30, 2011 ♦ Comments Off

Fillings

Fillings are used to repair a hole in your tooth caused by decay. The most common type of filling is an amalgam, made from a mixture of metals. Amalgam fillings are often used on your back chewing teeth as they are very hard-wearing.

Your dentist will offer you the type of filling most appropriate for your clinical (medical) needs. This may include a tooth-coloured (white) filling. For example, if you need a filling for one of your front teeth, your dentist may suggest a tooth-coloured filling.

Composite resin (tooth-coloured): powdered glass and ceramic added to a resin base,

Synthetic resin (tooth-coloured): as for composite resin but the resin is man-made (instead of coming from plants)

Replaced with white fillings

1.small cavity found on x-ray

2. Decay has been removed.

Glass ionomer (tooth-coloured): powdered glass, which reacts chemically with your tooth and bonds to it, but it is weak so is only used on baby (first) teeth or around the sides of teeth
Compomers (tooth-coloured): a combination of composite resin (‘comp’) and glass ionomer (‘omer’)
Silicate or silico-phosphate: minerals mixed together to form a clear, hard cement

Fissure sealants

These are “plastic coating” that fill the fissures in a tooth. They protect teeth from plaque and acids. These are a successful method of preventing tooth decay, particularly in a patients with a higher risk of tooth decay. The treatment is painless and non-invasive. Fissure sealants gradually wear after several years and may be re-applied.

1. Tooth prior to fissure sealing