A Guide to Dental Fillings
Truly, nothing makes you feel more confident than a great smile. That is why when you feel a cavity coming on, it is important to treat it immediately by visiting your dentist so you can have the tooth treated with a dental filling. NY area residents with busy schedules often complain that it is a difficult task to find the time and funds to get dental fillings. But even if a cavity is not visible, when your smile starts to decay, fillings are the most simple and quick fix to get rid of the nagging pain in your mouth and to get you back to your daily routine.
Dental fillings will repair the parts of your teeth that are damaged by decay. A dentist removes the decayed portion of the tooth and replaces it with a particular type of filling, adding strength to the tooth and preventing further deterioration. The type of material that is used during this procedure, however, can vary – providing patients with a choice of aesthetic looks, as well as price ranges.
Tooth-colored fillings, an ideal choice for New Yorkers, are becoming increasingly popular because they are almost unrecognizable since dentists can now match your exact tooth color with a colored filling material. This allows your smile to stay as white as you want it to be. These filling types are the most popular type for new fillings, although they are also often used to replace old fillings as well, and are just as strong and durable as the silver or gold colored fillings that were popular in previous years. However, tooth-colored fillings are more expensive than the more traditional types offered.
More traditional options include gold fillings, which are the most durable and can last up to 15 years or more, but are the most expensive, and silver amalgam, which do not last as long as gold, but are significantly less expensive. For patients who want the look of a tooth colored filling, but do not want to pay the higher price, a composite is the way to go. Composite fillings are offered in a similar shade to the tooth, which is optimal for the aesthetic look of the restoration, but they lack durability and are known to chip, so they may need to be replaced more often.
If you don’t take care of a simple cavity when it first occurs by having your dentist remove the decay and replace the damaged portion of the tooth with a filling, of if the damage to your tooth is more serious than that which a simple filling can repair, you may find yourself needing a root canal procedure. During this procedure, a root canal filling restores decayed or cracked space in your tooth and fills the empty space where the dental pulp normally resides, which is the center of the tooth that is removed during a root canal procedure.
While root canals have the stereotype of being dramatically painful, sufficient pain medication or an anesthetic can be supplied by your dentist so that you do not feel any pain during the procedure. Just one day after the procedure takes place, your tooth will already feel much better than it did before you went through the root canal and received the filling, since the pain from the cavity or damaged root will have been repaired.
Most dental insurance plans cover the cost of dental fillings, or at least a portion of the cost, since they are a necessary component of fixing decay in teeth and preventing further dental problems. But for those lacking insurance, many dental offices in the NY area offer payment plans so that customers can have a great-looking and healthy smile without having to worry as much about the cost it takes to repair their damaged teeth.
For more information about dental fillings in Queens, contact Park Dental Care today at 718-Dentist. Queens residents, as well as those located throughout metropolitan NYC, will find that we are conveniently located near the N & Q subway lines at the Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. station. Let us help you keep your smile healthy and your teeth strong!
