When poor oral health is maintained and other teeth unfriendly habits are practiced, the enamel of teeth tend to break down. The enamel of the tooth is the white strong part of the tooth. No matter how hard the teeth are, decay affects the strength and teeth tend to break, or holes develop in the teeth. These holes are called cavities. They make the teeth more sensitive to cold or heat. Pains will start in the teeth with cavities and tooth pain is one of the worst pains.
These cavities make the teeth vulnerable to more decay and expose the inner material of the teeth called the dentine. So a decayed tooth is not something you would want to neglect. You can ask for a dentist’s help and fill the cavities using tooth filling. Sometimes the cavity has gone through the dentine and spread to the nerve of the tooth and then tooth filling will not fix the problem. A root canal procedure needs to be done.
The tooth filling procedure can be done on adults and kids and even on a baby tooth. The tooth filling involves the dentist identifying each cavity specifically and the state they are in. He then cleans the teeth of any decaying material, bacteria or debris as much as possible from the tooth. A dental hand or laser is used for this.
The first step in tooth filling is isolation of the tooth with the cavity and then various bonding chemical adhesives are put into the cavity. Then the tooth filling material itself is placed into the cavity.
Tooth filling material can be of many types: Composite (plastic), Porcelain, Amalgam (silver) or Gold fillings.
- Gold fillings are metal gold made into fit the cavity in laboratory. This can be a very expensive filling material but lasts as much as 20 years once treated.
- Porcelain fillings are also expensive as Gold fillings and they can be made to match the color of the tooth. Unlike other fillings this comes as a whole covering to the tooth which needs tooth filling.
- Amalgam (silver) tooth filling is much less expensive and durable too. Disadvantage is that they are noticeable because of their color and are only used where there are inner cavities. Lasts approximately 12 years.
- Composite (plastic) is a resin tooth filling is a cheap solution. Not used were large tooth filling is required. It is not durable and is subject to discoloration. Known to last from five to seven years.
Composite filling is usually more expensive than amalgam fillings since they require expensive chemicals and tools.
The general cost of a tooth filling depends on the kind of dentist involved too. A rough estimate for a single tooth filling of amalgam is $110 to $20. A resin filling costs around $135.Earlier composite fillings were known to be less durable, but improved techniques have made it even more durable than amalgams. They need less preparation to be placed on the teeth the whole tooth filling takes twice the time as a normal filling and needs special tools. Gold fillings require you to pay more than two visits to the dentist.
Now that you know the basic characteristics of each filling it is best to consult a good dentist to decide on which filling is best for you, since each tooth filling has different advantages and disadvantages.
