If you have a cavity in a tooth, a dental filling in Oshawa is a good way to repair it. The filling will completely fill the cavity, preventing further infection and decay while restoring the tooth’s strength and structure. Once the tooth is prepared, it should feel comfortable to use, and you will be able to bite and chew food easily, without fear of the tooth crumbling away or cracking. There are several ways your dentist can repair a tooth with a filling, depending on the cavity’s size.
Direct Fillings
A small cavity is often easily repaired with a direct filling. After preparing the cavity, your dentist can place small amounts of filling material directly into the cavity, gradually building it up to the required size as you sit comfortably in the chair. Usually, the filling material used is nearly invisible as it is coloured to match your tooth closely using advanced composite resin. This material is strong and durable and is placed in tiny increments and hardened using a special light, ensuring it bonds securely to the cavity.
Once the filling is in place, it is carefully shaped and polished to look just like your real tooth. Treatment is completed during one visit to Margolian Dentistry. Composite resin is very biocompatible and doesn’t expand or contract or flex when it comes into contact with hot and cold foods, which can happen with older style silver-coloured amalgam fillings.
Semi-Direct Fillings
Semi-direct fillings are also made chairside and can be completed during a single visit. This technique tends to be used when the cavity is larger and where it may be necessary to remove a composite filling to set it or cure it outside the mouth. Once the material is fully set, it can be bonded into the cavity and finished as normal.
Another semi-direct treatment is to create your new filling using CADCAM technology, where we will prepare the cavity before scanning the tooth to take a detailed digital dental impression in Whitby. Next, we can design the new restoration before your filling is milled on-site from a block of pre-shaded ceramic material. It is a sophisticated process that results in a harder and longer-lasting filling than a composite resin filling. Ceramic fillings look extremely good and are also called inlays and onlays as they can repair quite large cavities in teeth and are highly suitable if you have significant decay in a larger back tooth. The ceramic material is very biocompatible and bonds strongly with the natural tooth.
Indirect Fillings
Indirect fillings are used when it isn’t possible to prepare the tooth, make the filling and fit it on the same day. A good example would be fitting a tooth with a gold filling that a technician must make in the dental laboratory. With this technique, the cavity is prepared before a detailed dental impression is taken and sent to the dental laboratory. The filling is made to the dentist’s exact specifications. In the meantime, the cavity is filled with a temporary filling. When a temporary filling is placed, it is necessary to avoid very hard or sticky foods that could damage or dislodge it. Once the permanent filling is ready, you return to your dental office for the temporary filling to be removed and the new filling tried in and bonded in place.
Indirect fillings are used far less frequently these days, thanks to the use of advanced milling machines. Instead, digitally designing and making your new filling in Ajax ensures a precision fitted restoration will be ready in just a few hours. It’s a far more convenient solution than having to return for a second appointment.
