Tooth Colored Fillings in Gaithersburg MD
Dental decay is one of the most common preventable diseases.
The addition of fluoride to drinking water has helped dramatically reduce dental decay. Using fluoride toothpaste, brushing twice a day, flossing, getting professional fluoride treatments, and having dental sealants placed all help protect the enamel that covers your teeth.
Watching what you eat also helps. Avoiding acidic soda, juice, or energy drinks along with limiting sugary or starchy snacks reduces the likelihood that you will experience decay. Even with all of this knowledge, most of us will have a cavity at one time or another.
Tooth-Colored Fillings
At Lakeforest Dental Associates, we believe in protecting smiles. With advances in modern dentistry, we can limit the impact that fillings, crowns, and other restorations have on your smile by using highly durable and attractive tooth-colored restorations.
Tooth-colored fillings, also known as composite resins, are made of a mixture of BPA-free plastic and microscopic glass particles. They come in a wide variety of shades so we can match them easily to your natural tooth color, allowing them to blend in perfectly with your smile.
How Fillings Work
Either Dr. Daftary or Dr. Zaner will begin by numbing your tooth, if necessary. Some cavities are so small, we may not need to use anesthetic. We can discuss this at your appointment and make sure you feel comfortable.
Next, we will remove all signs of decay from your tooth and prepare it for your composite filling by etching the surface to ensure a good bond. We apply the composite in layers and harden it with a curing light. Once your tooth is completely restored, we will shape and polish the filling, adjust it for a good fit, and make sure your bite is comfortable.
Benefits of Composite Tooth-Colored Fillings
?With old-fashioned amalgam (metal) fillings, it was necessary to remove a significant portion of your healthy tooth structure to anchor the filling in place. Composite actually bonds to your tooth, allowing us to leave your healthy tooth structure intact.
Other benefits of tooth-colored fillings include:
- No expanding and contracting with temperature changes
- Esthetic, natural appearance
- Long-lasting
- Can be used to make small repairs to teeth
- No negative impact on your smile
- No metals that concern some patients
Cosmetic Dental Bonding
If you have a small chip or gap in your smile, we can sometimes repair it using tooth-colored composite fillings. Since we add to your tooth structure, we can repair chips, protect from decay, and even reshape some teeth.
Contact Us to Schedule a Dental Exam
If you suspect you need a filling or it is time for your next dental exam, give us a call at our Gaithersburg, MD dental office. We look forward to welcoming you!
We offer Invisalign, tooth colored fillings, veneers, and crowns. We use a combination of these treatments to get you the esthetics and smile you want. For a fully comprehensive list visit our 
Many patients who come to our Gaithersburg dental office feel that composite, tooth-colored fillings are superior to silver amalgam fillings for a few reasons.
If you are in any pain or just concerned about your immediate oral health, it is always a good idea to come in and let our team have a look at it. If the issue is, in fact, a dental emergency, we will gladly take care of it. If it's a non-issue or not time-sensitive, we will either make a follow-up appointment or give you peace of mind!
