Composite or Tooth Colored Filling – Conservative and Cool!
A composite or tooth colored filling may be just what you need to improve your smile! Sure, they do not last as long as a porcelain restoration and they do have limitations but the goal of this blog is to show a conservative approach to improving a smile and let you know what the potential benefits and complications are when a composite or tooth colored filling or restoration is placed. Our office loves giving our patients options about their dental treatment so that they can pick the solution that is best for them at that time!
Existing composite or tooth colored filling on the front tooth is stained and rough and the overall color of the teeth is very dark.
In the photos here, a composite or tooth colored filling was used to replace the existing stained restoration on the front tooth. The patient also wanted an overall brighter tooth shade.
Treatment options for this patient would be as follows:
- Bleach teeth
- Gum surgery or plastic surgery of the gums to even the gumline for the central incisors
- Option of treating both central incisors to create central that were even in size. (You will note that the left central incisor seems narrower than the right central)
- Two weeks or more after bleaching is completed, a composite or tooth colored filling (also colled a restoration) or porcelain veneer(s) can be completed to improve the appearance of the teeth.
What the patient selected based on his goals:
- Bleaching with our custom trays.
- No gum surgery as not concerned about the discrepancy in height of the front teeth.
- Composite or tooth colored filling to replace his existing stained one.
Benefits:
- More conservative than a porcelain veneer and certainly more conservative than two porcelain veneers
- Instant improvement
- Smooth and comfortable
- No anesthetic required for bonding in this area (usually).
- Lower cost
Disadvantages:
- Gum surgery would have made the teeth look more even in length and would have added minimal additional cost however this was not a concern for this patient.
- One central is wider than the other.
- Over time the composite or tooth colored filling will stain and will need to be replaced. In our office, we guarantee restorations like this one for two years however depending on the patient’s habits and care, this restoration may last much longer.
- Composites or tooth colored fillings (restorations) are not as durable as porcelain and the patient will have to be very careful what he bites into or habits like clenching grinding or chewing on things (pens, fingernails etc.)
- Increased cost.
Composite or tooth colored filling replacing the existing stained restoration (filling) on the front tooth
Please call our office if you have questions about these types of restorations or to see if a composite or tooth colored filling would work for you. We would love to see you!