Tooth restoration is necessary to maintain optimal oral health, and dental fillings are the most common form of tooth restoration. They are used to repair cavities, chips, cracks, and worn surfaces of the teeth.
Why Are Dental Fillings Necessary?
Dental fillings are required to repair cavities or lesions on the surface of teeth to restore tooth strength and protect against further damage. They are handled through general dentistry in Winston-Salem. Most fillings are fairly straightforward and completed quickly during the course of a single dental visit.
The process consists of your dentist preparing and quickly applying what is a quick-drying cement to the cavity or lesion on the tooth. Dental fillings can consist of a variety of materials, including a silver alloy amalgam (mercury mixed with silver, tin, zinc, and copper), gold alloys, and porcelain. The material used for each filling usually depends on the type of tooth in question and the extent and characteristics of the damage.
How long do dental fillings typically last?
Several factors determine just how long a dental filling will last. These include the materials used in the composition of the filling (ceramic fillings last much longer than composite), the patient’s eating habits and oral hygiene, the pre-filling level of damage to the tooth (cracks, chips, wear, decay), and the amount and severity of decay around the filling. Thus, there’s no simple answer to just how long a dental filling “should last.”
Typically, though, dental fillings tend to last for between seven and fifteen years, with most lasting about a decade.
For patients in the Winston-Salem area, dentist Dr. Jeffrey Tibbs specializes in the placement of reasonably-priced dental fillings, painstakingly matched to the color of the surrounding teeth, as well as general or dentistry. Contact Dr. Tibbs today to ensure that your teeth are healthy and pain-free and ready to confidently flash your megawatt smile to the world!