What Are Dental Fillings?
Dental fillings are a requirement when you face dental problems like broken or chipped of dentures, tooth with cavities etc. Dental fillings are done with certain non-reactive and stable metals and inorganic compounds. The composition of the mixture is carefully chosen that it does not pose a risk to the body. Some of the common types of dental fillings are stated below for your references.
This is a self hardening mixture composed of silver, copper, zinc and tin in varying proportions. The main composition remains mercury in liquid form. The toxicity of mercury is known world wide, and a controversy is still underway as to should this mixture be still used. Though this is under the hammer, the mixture of amalgam is the most popularly used and the cheapest form of dental filling.
Dental amalgam has a checkered history, beginning in as early as the 7th century the latest modification to the composition was made in the 1970’s with the new name as non-gama-2 form of amalgam.
It is commonly known as the silver filling. The disadvantage of this type of filling is that the teeth has a tendency to get stained with time and it becomes very sensitive to hot and cold.
Composite contains a mixture of powdered glass and a plastic resin. This mixture gives the exact resemblance of a tooth. This composition is the one that is mostly used to replace broken front tooth. Cost wise, this filling is more expensive than normal amalgam based fillings.
The drawbacks to this type of filling being, this cannot be given the exact shape of the teeth, as there is a tendency to shrink on curing. Taking this shrinkage into account the dentist has to work very carefully when fitting out a teeth or he may end up with teeth of gaps.
When bonding with the existing teeth, it is necessary to keep the surface dry. If this is maintained then the bonding will be perfect. But practically this is not possible in spite of making using of dams.
Glass isomer cement:
This is a mixture of an organic acid and glass. This mixture is as costly as the composite resin that we have seen in the preceding paragraph. The main advantage of this compound over composite resin is that it does not shrink after setting and needs literally no curing. The compound contains fluoride; this is released into the teeth for patients who are more prone to cavities. This fluoride can be re-charged back into the compound by the use of fluoride toothpaste.
Resin isomer cement:
This is another compound that is a mixture of glass, an organic acid and a resin polymer. The curing time required for this mixture is hardly a few seconds when exposed to a certain colored light. This mixture is considered to be better than glass isomer cement, but is not a comparison to composite resin.
Unlike any of the fillings discussed earlier porcelain is quite hard and this will cause a wear to the opposite teeth to which it is fitted. The main advantage is that it is considered cheaper and is a used in the making of crowns, and the work of veneers. But one would require a minimum of two visits to the dentist to get his filling done with porcelain.
There are different types of metal fillings the most popular of them being the Nickel or cobalt chrome alloy filling or the gold filling. All the metal fillings are leak resistant and do not corrode in the mouth. The main disadvantage of metal fillings is the high cost of the fillings, and it requires at two visits tot eh dentist. Generally it is used for the making of the crowns of the teeth.
If you are likely to get a filling work done on your teeth, it would be a good idea to have a chat with your dentist to find out what is best suitable for you and what would suit your pocket, requirements and how much time you have to spare.
No side effects have been experienced by ninety nine percent of people who had tooth restorations, but one should consider that one percent chance to see if you fall in that category. The dentist makes sure that you are not having any reactions to the compounds that are being used in your mouth. However the most serious of cases is likely to suffer from skin rashes. If the material does not suit you it would be ideal to get the filling replaced rather than go in for allergic treatments.