Traditional dental restoratives (fillings) include gold, porcelain, composite or amalgam (note: Sierra Crest Dental is mercury free). The strength and durability of traditional dental materials continue to make them useful for situations where restored teeth must withstand extreme forces that result from chewing, such as in the back of the mouth.

Newer dental fillings include ceramic and plastic compounds that mimic the appearance of natural teeth. These compounds, often called composite resins, were traditionaly used on the front teeth where a natural appearance is important. Sierra Crest Dental also use them on the back teeth as well depending on the location and extent of the tooth decay.

What's Right for Me?

Several factors influence the performance, durability, longevity and expense of dental restorations:

• The components used in the filling material
• The amount of tooth structure remaining
• Where and how the filling is placed
• The chewing load that the tooth will have to bear
• The length and number of visits needed to prepare and adjust the restored tooth.

The ultimate decision about what to use is best determined in consultation with your doctor at Sierra Crest Dental.  Before your treatment begins, discuss your options with your doctor. To help you prepare for this discussion it is helpful to understand the two basic types of dental fillings: direct and indirect.

• Direct restorations are fillings placed immediately into a prepared cavity in a single visit. Your dentist at Sierra Crest Dental prepares the tooth, places the composite resin filling, and adjusts it during one appointment.
• Indirect restorations generally require two or more visits. They include inlays, onlays, veneers, crowns and bridges fabricated with gold, gold with porcelain or porclain materials. During the first visit, your dentist prepares the tooth and makes an impression of the area to be restored. Dr. Colpitts then places a temporary covering over the prepared tooth. In our office the impression is sent to a dental laboratory which creates the dental restoration. At the next appointment, your dentist cements the restoration into the prepared cavity and adjusts it as needed.