How Cosmetic Fillings Restore Your Teeth

Today's dental patients have a treatment of choice for tooth decay: cosmetic fillings. Colored to match healthy tooth structure, cosmetic fillings are placed by your family dentist in Bloomington, IN, Dr. Lisa Baker. Durable and realistic, these restorations help you forget you ever had cavities.

What is a dental cavity?

Also called dental caries, cavities are holes in your tooth enamel. Caused by acid-secreting bacteria in plaque and tartar on and between teeth, cavities worsen when untreated. In fact, as they progress, they can destroy interior pulp and even progress into the jaw bone. While preventable, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among Americans ages 20 to 64, says the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

How your family dentist can help

In her Bloomington, IN, office, Dr. Baker uses a variety of filling materials to restore decayed teeth. For small to moderately-sized cavities, she usually chooses composite resin, a mix of plastic and glass powders. Composite resin is colored to match your tooth perfectly, and it is highly moldable, making it a perfect complement to your natural tooth structure.

After your dentist has removed the decayed portions of your tooth, she carefully layers the resin into the prepared site and hardens each layer with a blue light. Because of the resin's chemical properties, your dentist removes far less healthy tooth structure than traditional restorations require. This makes your restored tooth more flexible and durable.

Other cosmetic filling materials

Besides composite resin, Dr. Baker offers glass ionomer and porcelain fillings. As with composite resin, these fillings are tooth-colored and unnoticeable.

Glass ionomer works well on the sides of teeth (the non-chewing surfaces) and on exposed roots.

Finally, porcelain fillings--onlays and inlays--fill large cavities on back teeth. They replace or lie between the cusps of the teeth and are bonded with permanent cement.

Dr. Lisa Baker and her team will help you have one for life. If you need a filling, please call her Bloomington, IN, office for an appointment:(812) 332-2000.