Advances in Tooth Restoration | Roseneath Dental Practice

Gone are the days when we plugged teeth with toxic metal.

Today we restore simple cavities with neutral composite materials that return teeth to their former glory. The new generation of white fillings comes in different shades so we can match them to the individual tooth colour. The other benefit is that these new fillings are bonded to the tooth so that we don’t get the leakage that was associated with the old metal types.

When a cavity is large and there is not enough tooth to support the filling our treatment of choice is a porcelain onlay. It consists of a restoration that fills the tooth but that also importantly covers the biting surface, giving the tooth added strength. Once again we can match the colour and because there is no metal present the cosmetic result is excellent.

Where possible we prefer to do onlays as opposed to crowns because much of the original tooth is retained. However, in cases where a crown is an ideal choice we now use all-porcelain crowns. Many may have seen or experienced the unsightly dark rim one sees around the old generation porcelain and metal crowns. Well now that is a thing of the past, we can get a perfect match!