A composite resin filling is a beautiful white dental filling. You can use it with dental bonding to cover and reshape a front tooth in a patient's smile or it can be used instead of dental amalgam to fill a cavity in a back tooth. This material has been around for about forty years but has only become popular with dentists the past two decades.

          A composite resin filling is actually a tooth-colored plastic polymer. Polymers are materials that are made out of long intricately connected chains of the same repeating things. They are like beads connected to form a necklace. Polymerization is when the smaller separate beads are all connected together into one big thing. It's like Jello hardening. Before polymerization, the white material is soft and moldable and can be formed into the shape of a tooth. When the dentist is happy with the shape and form, a dental light is used to harden the material.

          As a composite resin filling hardens, it shrinks and gets smaller. This shrinkage can forcefully pull the sides of the tooth together and causes dental pain. This is controlled by placing the material into the tooth in layers and hardening each layer before placing the next one. The new materials are very hard and are suitable to be used in heavy duty areas in the back chewing teeth. Mixed in with the tough, wear-resistant polymer are pieces of glass or ceramic material to give the material it's tooth color. The different colored composites have differently colored glass or ceramic fillers to give the appearance of having different shades.

          As Cosmetic Dentistry is undergoing a revolution, so is composite resin filling materials. New techniques and materials allow a layering of different white filling materials to create a more lifelike appearance. Translucent materials are now available to give a more natural look to the edges of teeth and tints are available for mimic small natural looking variations inside teeth. Dr. Mark Allan Padolsky, an Atlanta Cosmetic Dentist, loves creating new beautiful smiles and would be happy to meet with you to discuss your cosmetic options. Call 404-874-7428 for your free cosmetic consultation appointment.