Services Provided - Tooth Colored & Porcelain Fillings

What is a dental restoration?

A restoration is a term used to describe or classify different ways of restoring a tooth. A filling typically describes a type of a direct restoration. Following the removal of decay the filling immediately goes directly into the tooth and it is for this reason that direct restorations only require a single appointment. Examples of direct restorative materials are Amalgam/Silver fillings and direct composite resin materials. Indirect restorations as the name implies are typically fabricated outside the dental office in a dental lab and therefore typically requires a two-appointment approach. Porcelain or gold crowns, inlays, and onlays typically fall into this category. With the advent of CAD-CAM technology many dental offices can now make indirect porcelain restorations within the dental office and therefore need just a single appointment.

What are tooth colored restorations?

Tooth colored restorations are natural looking, alternatives to traditional metal fillings. We offer two primary types: direct composite resin fillings, and indirect porcelain restorations.

What materials are used?

Direct composite resin fillings are made from specially formulated dental resins, designed to mimic the color and consistency of natural tooth enamel. Porcelain inlays, onlays, and crowns are fashioned from dental grade porcelain, to recreate the color, texture, and translucency of your natural teeth.

How long does the procedure take?

Tooth colored direct composite resin fillings can be completed in a single office visit, in a procedure much like that for metal fillings. Porcelain restorations can take two or more office visits, depending on the type and extent of the restoration. Porcelain restorations fabricated through our CEREC crown-in-a-day CAD-CAM technology take only a single visit.

What other options are available?

If you have a small chip in a tooth, rather than a cavity from bacterial decay, we can use the same tooth-colored composite to fill it. This would be a considered dental bonding procedure.

How long do tooth colored restorations last?

Properly maintained, a tooth colored restoration can last a decade or more.