Filling Materials for Cavities
We use a wide variety of filling materials at Smiles of Skokie. We choose the best material based on your individual situation.
We’ve used bonded tooth color fillings to restore teeth immediately for many years. These restorative materials are very wear resistant and help prevent future decay. They also reinforce the surrounding tooth structure better than older types of restorations. However, they are brittle and should not be used for very large restorations.
If a bonded tooth colored filling isn’t a good choice for you, one type of white filling material, a compomer, is an effective option. It’s more flexible than conventional tooth colored materials, absorbs and releases fluoride, and has no appreciable shrinkage. It is best to use it at the gum line, and under more wear resistant materials between teeth. This material absorbs fluoride from your toothpaste and releases it over a long period of time in amounts significant enough to help prevent recurrent decay. The nerve within the tooth also tolerates this type of material extremely well when there is deep decay. This can actually help the nerve heal in these situations which can help prevent nerve death and the need for a root canal. We use this material whenever possible.
There are a number of other white filling materials designed to be very strong and wear resistant. We bond these materials over the top of the material mentioned in the previous paragraph to provide strength and wear resistance where needed. Thus, the best restoration for cavities between teeth is compomer. Higher fluoride content can help prevent decay from starting again. We then bond over this material a stronger more wear resistant material for chewing wear and break-resistant strength. This is how we restore these teeth at Smiles of Skokie.
We are also using a light curing laser now, which shortens curing cycles from 20 seconds to only 3 seconds!
To learn more about these options for your situation, please call our offices at 847-675-3002 to schedule a consultation.