What are white fillings?
White fillings are made from a hard plastic material, known as composite resin. In liquid form, these fillings mold to the shape of your void left behind from your cavity, covering the damaged area completely. Then, Dr. Greenfield can shape the exposed portion of the filling to match the natural cusps of your teeth. Using a curing light, the tooth-colored filling will harden into a durable dental restoration. Since composite resin can be dyed to match the color of your tooth, your white filling will look natural and discrete. Only you and your Lake Orion dentist may be able to tell you have had dental work.
Why are dental fillings important?
Fillings are vital to stopping the progression of tooth decay. Since your teeth do not heal themselves, professional dental care is necessary to prevent the spread of cavities and avoid more complicated dental issues. An untreated cavity can lead to an internally infected tooth or a dental abscess, which may require a root canal. Severe tooth decay may even result in tooth root cracking, which requires tooth extraction.
Our Lake Orion dentist, Dr. Greenfield, can address the tooth infection by removing bacteria and diseased tooth structure. The filling builds back the tooth structure lost from the cavity and strengthens the tooth.