{"id":116,"date":"2019-06-03T07:40:28","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T11:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=116"},"modified":"2025-10-06T22:10:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:10:45","slug":"why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Dental Fillings Work and Your Options When One is Needed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your teeth are strong and capable of life-long function. But occasional maintenance and repair is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental fillings restore your tooth function and appearance caused by disease, damage, or trauma. You have filling options as well depending on your tooth structure and preference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-117 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dental-Fillings-300x156.jpg\" alt=\"Dental Fillings\" width=\"458\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dental-Fillings-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dental-Fillings.jpg 498w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The why and how of dental fillings<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minor tooth damage is the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/services\/dental-fillings\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> common reason for requiring a dental filling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Causes can include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A cavity caused by tooth decay<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A chipped or fractured tooth<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A dental filling prevents the decay from spreading. Any tooth damage will be restored to help eliminate the risk of decay returning to the area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your treatment can most often be completed in one appointment. The damaged tooth area is prepared, any decay or infection is removed and treated, and your tooth is restored to its natural function and appearance following filling placement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The \u201cnatural\u201d choice<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tooth-colored dental fillings are designed to match the natural shade of your teeth. They will blend with your surrounding teeth and often be unnoticeable following treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Composite resin is the common material used for tooth-colored fillings. Your treated tooth will have a consistent white shade when resin is used.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Porcelain is also a material that can be used to craft your tooth-colored filling. Porcelain fillings are versatile too. They\u2019re often created to fill larger areas such as with<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/services\/dental-inlays-onlays\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> inlays and onlays<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind that tooth colored fillings can require more preparation time. But considering your tooth condition you will appreciate the natural looking results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Often a silver (amalgam) filling is necessary and the best solution depending on your tooth condition. Amalgam fillings are crafted from select alloys including silver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An amalgam filling has been standard for many years. That said, there\u2019s a trend away from fillings containing metal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Metal allergies, tooth prep, and cosmetic (appearance) preferences can tip you away from amalgam dental fillings. Yet, on occasion an amalgam filling is the best alternative and is less expensive than the tooth-colored filling option.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact your St. Petersburg cosmetic dentistry specialist, Dr. Roberto Macedo, DDS, MS, PhD.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about your damaged or decayed teeth. Schedule an examination and treatment consultation to discover how dental fillings can restore your tooth function and natural-looking smile appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your teeth are strong and capable of life-long function. But occasional maintenance and repair is needed. Dental fillings restore your tooth function and appearance caused by disease, damage, or trauma. You have filling options as well depending on your tooth &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dental-fillings"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Dental Fillings Work and Your Options When One is Needed - Roberto Macedo, DDS, MS, PHD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand why dental fillings work, what materials are used, and how to choose the best option for your teeth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Dental Fillings Work and Your Options When One is Needed - Roberto Macedo, DDS, MS, PHD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand why dental fillings work, what materials are used, and how to choose the best option for your teeth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Roberto Macedo, DDS, MS, PHD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-03T11:40:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-07T02:10:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dental-Fillings.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"498\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"259\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"advancedcenteradmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"advancedcenteradmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/advancedcenterforcosmeticdentistry.com\/blog\/why-dental-fillings-work-and-your-options-when-one-is-needed\/\",\"name\":\"Why Dental Fillings Work and Your Options When One is Needed - 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