Cosmetic Purposes of Dental Fillings

It used to be that if you had a cavity that needed to be filled, your only real options were silver amalgam or gold fillings. Gold fillings tend to be expensive, and many people do not care for silver amalgam fillings because of the mercury that is contained within them. At this point, there is a more cosmetically pleasing option for dental fillings called composite resin fillings.

Composite resin fillings are tooth-colored, so nobody will even know you ever had a cavity when you smile. Many patients who were fit with silver amalgam fillings in previous years will actually go to our cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles just to have them replaced with composite fillings. While composite fillings are not quite as strong as metal fillings, they often times create a better seal when placed. In addition to filling cavities, composite fillings can also be used in some cases to fix teeth that have suffered minor levels of damage.

It is important to remember that in order for any dental filling to be effective, a certain amount of healthy tooth must still remain. If too much of the tooth has been damaged to allow for a composite filling, there are tooth-colored inlays and onlays made out of porcelain that can be used to treat the tooth instead.

If you have any additional questions about composite fillings, contact our expert in dental fillings in Los Angeles to set up an appointment.