Dental Fillings
Hillsboro, OR
 At Century Dental, we are fully invested in helping you to keep your mouth happy and healthy. Your smile should last you a lifetime, and with the proper oral hygiene and regular trips for dental cleanings and dental exams to our office, we can help you to attain this goal. Setbacks should be expected when it comes to any endeavor that lasts a lifetime, so don’t get discouraged if you get a dental cavity or two. At Century Dental, we have some different dental fillings options to help you retain the health of your teeth even after they have experienced some minor bacterial infection.
What causes cavities?
When you get the news that you have a cavity, you might not fully understand what that means. It all starts with the bacteria that live in your mouth. These bacteria sustain themselves on the sugars and acids left over from your meals, and they tend to congregate on the surfaces of your mouth, like your teeth and gums. These bacteria are called plaque. When plaque forms on the surface of your teeth and gums they will start to infect them.
Brushing and flossing functions to break up and wash away these colonies, preventing infection of the teeth and gums. If you forget to brush and floss or miss a specific area of your teeth for long enough, a cavity will form. To return your teeth to health, we must use a dental drill to remove the infection carefully.
What is a dental filling?
When we remove the infectious cavity from your teeth, we will use a dental filling to fill in the hole left behind. Fillings return the form and function of your tooth and prevent infection from entering it.
Amalgam Fillings
Amalgam fillings are what most people think of when they think of dental fillings. They are large, silver in coloration, and only placed in the premolars and molars. Amalgam fillings are made of an amalgamation of silver, tin, copper, and other metals. Amalgam fillings are dependable and long-lasting. Unfortunately, amalgam fillings are not the most aesthetically pleasing filling option.
Composite Fillings
Composite fillings are often called tooth colored fillings because of how well they match the look of your teeth. We mix composite filling material in our office to closely match the color of your teeth. The composite mixture is made up of glass, plastic, and a special resin that binds the mixture together. We will apply this mixture to your teeth and set it in place permanently using a special ultraviolet light. Composite fillings don’t mar your smile and fit in with your natural teeth perfectly.
Keep Your Teeth Healthy With Good Hygiene Habits
It’s always best to prevent cavities from forming in the first place. Brush after every meal and floss at least once a day. It can be a bit of a bother, to begin with, but once you have the habit, you will be thankful for it. Following meals that you can’t brush, like lunch, rinse your mouth out with some water to wash away particulate matter and bacteria.
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