When you go for a check up, your dentist checks your fillings and may suggest that you replace any loose or broken ones. Your dentist also looks for signs of decay, such as brown or black spots and may want to use X-rays to take a closer look at problem spots.

If you have a cavity, your dentist may keep an eye on it (if it’s small) or fill it right away. If a large cavity is not filled, it can get bigger and cause pain. The tooth may even have to be removed and replaced with a false (or artificial) tooth. The most common filling material placed is the composite resin filling.

Composite Fillings

Composite fillings are also called plastic or white fillings. Getting this kind of filling depends on where the tooth is in your mouth. To place this filling, your dentist cleans all decay from the tooth and puts a glue (or bonding material) on the inside of the hole. Composite resin is put into the hole in thin layers. Each layer gets hard with the help of a special light that your dentist holds over the tooth. When the last layer of the filling is hard, your dentist shapes the filling so it looks and feels natural.

Advantages:

* These fillings will be the same colour as your natural teeth.
* They cost less than inlays.
* They are direct fillings, so they can be done in one appointment, in most cases.

Disadvantages:

* This kind of filling can break more easily than amalgam , and may not last as long.
* Composite fillings cost more than amalgam fillings.
* Recurrent decay is more of a problem than with amalgam.