Dental Filling is a way to restore a tooth damaged by decay back to its normal function and shape. When a dentist treats a filling, firstly the decayed tooth material is removed and the affected area is cleaned. Then the dentist fills the cleaned out cavity with a filling material.
Dental fillings can be divided into two broad types: direct restorations and indirect restorations.
Direct restorations: This technique involves placing a soft or malleable filling ex composite, silver amalgam into the prepared tooth and building up the tooth before the material sets hard. The advantage of direct restorations is that they usually set quickly and can be placed in a single procedure.
Indirect restorations: In this technique the restoration is fabricated outside of the mouth using the dental impressions of the prepared tooth. Common indirect restorations include inlays and onlays, crowns, bridges, and veneers.
There are different choices available in dental fillings. But since different types of fillings are better for different dental conditions, the dentist helps and gives his expert opinion to decide which type of filling is right for you based on factors including the location and severity of the decay.
Some common types of fillings include Gold fillings, Silver amalgam fillings, Composite fillings, Porcelain fillings and Glass ionomers.
Modern dentistry has found a way to let you keep your decayed teeth. All that needs to be done is to have the bacteria professionally removed and then to replace the hole in the tooth with a hard, tooth-like material known as a dental filling.