Direct Restorations
What is a direct restoration?
A direct restoration is a repair to your tooth that takes place in one appointment in our office. We restore your tooth by directly placing materials into and onto your tooth. You’ve probably heard this called a filling.
Bonded Composite
Composite dentistry has come a long way since it’s inception in the 1980s. Sometimes referred to as tooth-colored filling, these materials are the cornerstone of dentistry. We are now able to use advanced materials and techniques to complete dentistry that looks and feels like tooth structure, and can even make esthetic restorations of the mouth. Furthermore, bonded composite allows us to achieve the desire result with less tooth drilling!
Dental Fillings—The Process
The procedure for placing a composite resin direct restoration is a routine treatment that we do every day at Wellesley Square Dental. Here’s how it works:
- Dr. Mattison numbs the area of the mouth if necessary.
- Dr. Mattison isolates the tooth from saliva to keep it dry.
- Any dental decay is removed.
- A cleaning solution is used to rid the tooth of microbes, an etchant is used to open the pores of the tooth and a bonding agent is used to seal the pores and as the first layer of your direct restoration.
- A special blue light is used to harden each layer of composite resin material as it is added.
- After the tooth is filled, the composite resin is shaped to resemble a real tooth.
- Finally, the restoration is smoothed and polished to accommodate your bite.
Is there anything wrong with Amalgam fillings?
There is no evidence to suggest that amalgam fillings are associated with health consequences. Because of their reliability and beauty, we simply choose to use resin bonded composite restorations to restore minor damage to teeth in our practice.