Tooth-Colored Fillings
In the past, patients with cavities would receive unsightly silver, or metal fillings that would darken with age. Old silver amalgam fillings can be replaced with new and durable tooth-colored composite fillings. These composite fillings are matched to the natural color of your teeth, and directly bonded to the surface of your tooth in order to prevent further decay. These bonded composite fillings also allow us to preserve more of your natural tooth structure.
Inlays & Onlays
Dental inlays and onlays are solid fillings used to restore damaged or decayed teeth. They are often needed when there is not enough healthy tissue left in the tooth to support a regular filling. (If a tooth is severely damaged, a crown may be necessary to cover the entire surface instead of an inlay or onlay). Unlike regular fillings, they strengthen rather than weaken teeth. Inlays lie within the cusps, or bumps, on the surface of a tooth, while onlays cover one or more cusps. Inlays and onlays made of composite resin or porcelain are tooth-colored, and once they are cemented in, make the tooth stronger.
All Porcelain Crowns
You may have seen someone with a dark stain around the gum line. Chances are that they have a crown composed of metal underneath the porcelain. After a while, the metal begins to show. We can now provide our patients with metal-free crowns which are just as strong as the crowns with metal, but will not show a dark line after a few years.
Unlike traditional crowns which have a metal base, the newer porcelain crowns do not require the metal for strength. The result is a much more esthetic crown, virtually indistinguishable from a natural tooth. The translucent properties of all porcelain mimic those of natural teeth and are bonded to the existing tooth structure for an extremely durable and long lasting result.
