Finally, the ideal Dental Filling!

First, it was Amalgam. Yes, that is right! The old silver metal filling many of us still have in our mouths and that many dentists are still placing today. Then came gold and finally a new era of … WHITE FILLINGS!
‘White’ was always going to be the obvious colour for the ideal filling, but many patients today still showcase a big display of silver and gold when opening their mouths. 

I wish I could say that when replacing fillings with any dental material (even porcelain) it is for life, but the reality is that things do not last forever. (Not even my car does.)
The porcelain will last, but your own biological tooth tissue undergoes changes throughout life and can still decay. Much like a porcelain tile on your kitchen floor,
the porcelain will last, but if the ground underneath caves in the tile will collapse. Of all the materials we have today porcelain is the best and closest to the ideal filling material
that mimics your own tooth structure. The best part is that porcelain is also strong, colour-fast and offers super aesthetics. This new look will bring your smile to life again and reverse the effects of tooth wear, ageing and offers oodles of confidence that will make you want to smile more often!

When you are getting your teeth filled, keep the following in mind

If your previous filling was an amalgam(metal) restoration it will shrink and expand over time in the presence of hot or cold drinks and foods. These dimensional changes create little cracks in the underlying tooth tissue and similar to the crack in your car’s windscreen these cracks can start to run and cause tooth ache(close to the nerve) or even worst leads to vertical fractures of the tooth and thus extraction.

This means that often when these old fillings are removed these cracked sections are detected and then we must eliminate them also.
It means that the new white filling is often a lot bigger than the original old filling as we want to eliminate these cracks from creating further damage.
Should you leave these cracks the tooth will break here anyway.

Ceramic, unlike other white filling materials, must be made outside the mouth to obtain its typical characteristics.
A good comparison is porcelain/ ceramic tiles. These tiles are not made on the spot, but rather manufactured before under very specific conditions to always produce consistent colour and other qualities.
Ceramic Fillings work in exactly the same way, but just on a smaller scale.

Here is how it works:
The dentist removes the old filling and defective tooth structure and smoothes down all sharp corners and edges.
The ceramic filling must now be made to fit exactely on and into the remaining tooth structure to complete the tooth again to its original shape. This will give us the most perfect natural looking filling available today!

IN THE PAST:
A Dental Laboratory was used to makethis ceramicfilling or crown. The dentist had to take an impression of the prepared tooth; put a temporary filling in the patient’s tooth and send the work away to the laboratory. A week to 10 days later the filling or crown comes back from the laband the dentist cements it in the patient’s mouth.

For many patients this is a very time consuming and inconvenient procedure.
– gaggy impressions
– Temporary fillings that comes out and are just inconvenient
– Third party(Lab) involvement that complicate things
– The 7 – 10 days is just too long and not very cost effective
– Shots to numb the tooth on 2 different occatons in the same area

TODAY:
A milling machine was invented that can now cut the precise filling or crown out of a piece of solid ceramic!
The new CEREC 3D is here and finally dentistry has come to age!
This sort of technology is nothing new in general andis being used in the vehicle manifacturing industry for many years. Most of the parts for new motor cars are being milled out of steal from a solid piece of metal. (CAD/CAM)
The same principle has been copied and finally Dentistry is reaping the benefits!

Since we launch the new CEREC 3D in our rooms patients are demanding white fillings more than ever before.
The new ‘white colour’ is really amazing and better ceramics and porcelains are now being manifactured with the speed of light.
For me as a dentist this is really incredible! I now have the chance to produce crowns and ceramic fillings in just one day and have the freedom of having my own LAB chairside. The quality of my dentistry has gone up by defaultand I am raising my own standards.
The colours I am using todayare also whiter than about 1 year ago as people are becoming more focused on their SMILE as a whole and not just the tooth in question.

Ceramic fillings are truly the world’s best filling material today and with CEREC 3D, it is now possible in only 1 visit!

Keep smiling!
Dr Francois Burger