What is the Best Dental Filling Material?

Tooth decay in Newcastle is common, and placing a dental filling can help prevent further damage to the tooth, restoring its strength, structure and appearance. If you need a dental filling, you may wonder which material is best.

In this article, we explain the different types of filling materials, when they are used, and the potential pros and cons of each.

What Is a Dental Filling?

A filling is a material that is used to restore a tooth that may have been damaged due to decay. We can also use filling materials to repair teeth that have become chipped or cracked, or that are worn down.

Various filling materials are available, including:

• Gold alloy.
• Composite resin.
• Glass ionomer.
• Ceramic.

Fillings can be direct, meaning they are made chair-side, or indirect, meaning they are made outside of the mouth. Direct fillings include composite resin and glass ionomer. Indirect fillings include those made from gold alloy and ceramic.

Gold Alloy

A gold filling is long-lasting and durable, and gold is a material that is kind to opposing teeth, so it will not cause excess wear and tear. A gold filling can last up to 20 years.

However, this type of filling is highly visible and is typically used to repair back teeth. Also, the price of a gold filling can depend on the current market price of gold. This indirect filling is made in a dental lab, so you would need a temporary filling while it is being fabricated.

Composite Resin

Composite resin is a very common restorative material that is reasonably durable and long-lasting, and it is cost-effective.

At West Bowmanville Family Dental, we have a wide range of composite resins in stock that are aesthetically pleasing. Our dentist can provide composite resin fillings that look good, in shades that blend in beautifully with your natural tooth colour.

Also, it’s a biomimetic material, meaning it works in harmony with your natural tooth structure, fitting in perfectly with our holistic approach to dentistry. When preparing a cavity for a composite resin filling, we only need to remove a minimal amount of damaged material, leaving healthy tooth structure intact. This helps preserve and protect as much tooth structure as possible.

However, if you smoke, drink a lot of tea, coffee, or red wine, or love eating highly coloured foods, you may find your resin fillings become stained over time. A good oral care routine and regular hygiene appointments can help keep them looking good for longer.

Usually, a composite resin filling in Clarington will last 5 years or more with proper care.

Glass Ionomer

Glass ionomer fillings are only used in specific circumstances because the material is quite fragile, even though it looks wonderful. We may suggest this filling when preparing a cavity around a tooth root, and where the material will not come under too much pressure during biting and chewing.

These fillings can release fluoride, helping prevent further tooth decay. Generally, a glass ionomer filling will last around five years.

Ceramic

Ceramic fillings are also called inlays and onlays. They are used to repair large cavities in back teeth, where the most strength and structure are needed to withstand chewing forces. These ceramic fillings are extremely strong, beautiful, and long-lasting, and are another biomimetic material that works harmoniously with natural tooth structure.

Although this is an indirect filling, we can usually make it on-site while you wait using advanced CAD/CAM technology. The result is a beautiful, precision-made restoration that should last 15 years or longer.

You may notice that we haven’t discussed amalgam fillings, as we no longer use this material. If you have amalgam fillings in Courtice, we can ensure they are removed safely when the time comes and replaced with more modern materials.