Restore Your Smile With Cosmetic Fillings

Learn more about dental fillings and how they restore teeth after cavities.

Getting a dental filling is something that many people will experience at some point during their lifetime, as a filling is used to restore a tooth after decay. Here’s what you should know about getting dental fillings from our Murrysville, PA, family dentist Dr. Hanne Hollenbeck.

With is a cosmetic filling?

Despite the name, a cosmetic filling is actually a restorative treatment that fills holes in your teeth where decayed enamel has just been removed. If our Murrysville, PA, dentist finds a cavity during your routine checkup you will need to have the tooth treated as soon as possible to prevent the decay from spreading further.

Our dentist will first numb the area with local anesthesia before removing the decayed enamel. Once the decay has been removed we will need to rebuild the tooth. This is where a dental filling comes in. A dental filling is applied, shaped and then bonded to the tooth. A cosmetic filling simply means that the material that we use looks just like real tooth enamel so it blends in with the rest of the tooth.

While a dental filling can be made from metal amalgam, most of the time a tooth-colored filling is placed because it offers more aesthetic advantages over metal fillings. Composite resin is first matched to the shade of the tooth before being applied and then hardened using a dental light. A filling will be placed immediately after the cavity has been removed.

What are the benefits of a cosmetic filling?

Decayed teeth are weaker than healthy teeth. By catching decay early on we can preserve as much of the natural tooth structure as possible and then restore the tooth’s functionality and strength by placing a composite filling.

Dental fillings made from composite resin are also designed to match the color of your teeth so the only person who will know you have a filling is you. Furthermore, composite resin is durable, which means that with the proper care a dental filling could many years before needing to be replaced.

Whether you are experiencing symptoms of a cavity or you need to schedule your next six-month dental cleaning, don’t hesitate to call our Murrysville, PA, dental office. Keep up with those biannual checkups and cleanings and reduce your risk for cavities.