How a Filling Fixes Your Cavity

The bad news about cavities is that almost everyone will experience one at some point in their lives. The good news, however, is that most cavities can be treated with a minimally invasive dental filling, which restores a cavity-stricken tooth and preserves the rest of its healthy structure. Today, fillings are often made from highly customizable composite resin, which your dentist can tint to closely match your tooth’s color and appearance. Besides fixing your cavity, a tooth-colored filling also helps you preserve the uniform appearance of your smile by blending in discreetly with your teeth.

The Process of Stopping Tooth Decay
A cavity, or hole in your tooth, is the defining characteristic of tooth decay—a bacterial infection in your tooth structure that grows steadily worse as time goes by. To treat a cavity, your dentist will remove the harmful oral bacteria and infected tooth structure from within the cavity, ensuring that no signs of infection remain. Then, your dentist can place tooth-colored composite resin in the cavity to restore the tooth’s strength and integrity.

The Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings
Traditionally, metal amalgam has been the most popular choice of material for most dental fillings. However, today’s fillings are more often made from tooth-colored composite resin, thanks to its many cosmetic and restorative benefits over traditional metal amalgam. In addition to preserving your smile’s healthy appearance by blending in discreetly, composite resin also provides a tighter, more secure seal against oral bacteria than metal can. This reduces your risks of your restoration failing in the future and leaving your tooth vulnerable to more extensive decay.

Treat Your Cavity with a Tooth-Colored Filling
If your tooth gets a cavity, then treating it with a tooth-colored filling can restore the tooth as well as improve the long-term health and appearance of your smile. To schedule a consultation, call Oxnard Dentistry in Oxnard, CA, today at (805) 604-9999. We also proudly serve patients from in and around Camarillo, Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Moore Park, and all surrounding communities.