Ronald Hawk DDS Cosmetic Dentistry in Boca Raton, FL

Composite Tooth BondingSmall to Moderate Tooth Restoration with a Natural Look

Thanks to advances in modern dental materials and cosmetic dentistry techniques, dentists have more ways than ever before to create pleasing, natural-looking smiles. In his Boca Raton office, Dr. Hawk uses composite bonding for small to moderate tooth repairs with excellent results.

New and Traditional Materials Available for Composite Tooth Bonding

Dental researchers are continuing their often decades-long work developing materials, such as ceramics and polymer compounds that look more like natural teeth. As a result, dentists and patients today have several choices when it comes to selecting materials to repair missing, worn, damaged or decayed teeth.

These new materials have not eliminated the usefulness of more traditional dental materials, such as gold, base metal alloys and dental amalgam. That's because the strength and durability of traditional dental materials continue to make them useful for certain situations, such as fillings in the back teeth where chewing forces are greatest.

Composite fillings are a mixture of glass or quartz filler in a resin medium that produces a tooth-colored filling. They are sometimes referred to as composites or filled resins. Composite fillings provide good durability and resistance to fracture in small-to-mid size restorations that need to withstand moderate chewing pressure. Composites can also be "bonded" or adhesively held in a cavity, often allowing the dentist to make a more conservative repair to the tooth.

Reasons for Replacing Fillings

Constant pressure from chewing, grinding or clenching can cause dental fillings, or restorations, to wear away, chip or crack. Although you may not be able to tell that your filling is wearing down, your dentist can identify weaknesses in your restorations during a regular check-up. If the seal between the tooth enamel and the restoration breaks down, food particles and decay-causing bacteria can work their way under the restoration. You then run the risk of developing additional decay in that tooth. Decay that is left untreated can progress to infect the dental pulp and may cause an abscess. If the restoration is large or the recurrent decay is extensive, there may not be enough tooth structure remaining to support a replacement filling. In these cases, Dr. Hawk may need to replace the filling with a crown.