What, exactly, is a white filling?
White fillings are also referred to as tooth-colored fillings because their color can be matched to whatever shade of white your other teeth are. The term most accurately refers to composite resin fillings, but can also include porcelain fillings.
How do white or composite resin fillings differ from porcelain fillings?
The most obvious difference is that porcelain fillings are made of porcelain, not composite resin. Porcelain fillings are usually referred to as inlays if they repair only the upper surface of teeth, or onlays if they overlap one or more cusps.
Composite resin fillings can be completed in a single visit, but porcelain inlays and onlays require two visits because the “filling” is fabricated at a lab. It takes about two weeks to manufacture the porcelain inlay or onlay.
How do onlays differ from crowns?
Porcelain crowns encase the entire tooth down to the gum line. Onlays cover only the weak spots on the surface of the tooth and do not extend to the gum line.
Are white fillings better than metal or silver fillings?
Cosmetic dentists at Galleria Dental Aesthetics, voted the best dentists in America by their peers, offer only porcelain and composite resin fillings because:
• White fillings eliminate any of the concerns associated with mercury/silver fillings
• White fillings blend so well with your natural teeth, they are nearly invisible, whereas silver fillings can show through the enamel as well as being obvious on the surface
• White fillings are stable and don’t expand or contract as metal fillings do
• White fillings bond to your teeth preventing gaps between the filling and the tooth enamel that could otherwise allow bacteria to cause decay
• White fillings require less of the tooth to be drilled away for fillings than silver/mercury fillings, leaving your tooth stronger with more natural structure
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