White Fillings and Bonding at Chatswood Dental Associates

In the past, metal amalgam fillings were our only option to repair a tooth after removing decay. Today, we have the option of using a composite resin that can be carefully shaded to match the natural colour of your enamel. Nobody will ever need to know that you had a cavity repaired.

Resin or Amalgam?

Amalgam fillings effectively restore teeth for decades, but they have a couple serious flaws:

• They are highly visible and can discolour an entire tooth.
• They require healthy tooth structure be removed to create an “anchor” to hold the filling in place.

Resin restorations effectively solve both of these issues without the need to sacrifice strength or durability because the resin is tooth-coloured, even you will have a hard time seeing it! For this reason, many people ask us to replace amalgam fillings with resin to improve the appearance of their smile. We can examine your teeth to determine whether this is an appropriate plan for you.

Additionally, unlike amalgam, the composite resin actually bonds to your tooth structure. This characteristic means we can focus on only removing damaged areas of the tooth and preserve more of your own healthy enamel when we place a filling. We believe in providing the most conservative treatment possible and tooth-coloured fillings can be a key part of that commitment.

Cosmetic Bonding

In addition to repairing teeth damaged by decay, composite resin can also be used to make aesthetic improvements to teeth. Some of the cosmetic repairs we can make using a process known as bonding, include:

• Filling in chips and minor cracks
• Covering up areas of whitening-resistant staining and discolouration
• Lengthening teeth that are excessively worn down
• Widening teeth to fill in gaps
• Improving the shape of teeth to create a uniform smile

Unlike veneers, which require a lab to craft, bonding can be designed and placed right here in our dental clinic – often in a single appointment! The material is applied to prepared teeth and then moulded into the appropriate shape. Finally, it is cured with a light and gently polished.

If you’re concerned about small aesthetic flaws that detract from the appearance of your smile, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Lim or Dr. Sridhar (Dentists) to see if cosmetic bonding is right for you!

Preventing Cavities

While it’s great that we have options for treating cavities that don’t mar your smile, ideally, we’d prefer to help you avoid cavities altogether!

Brushing your teeth after eating (or at least twice a day) with a fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily before bed will help remove bacteria-filled plaque from your teeth. Although sugar is often blamed as the culprit in cavities, it’s actually the bacteria that do the damage. As they consume traces of foods in your mouth (particularly starches), they produce acids, which eat away at the enamel to produce the pits that we know as cavities, or dental caries.

Regular cleanings remove the traces of plaque brushing misses and removes calcified tartar, which can’t be removed with a brush or floss. Regular checkups help us spot cavities when they’re small and easily treated, before they cause you pain.

* Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

White Fillings and Bonding Chatswood NSW | (02) 9412 4488