Dental Fillings

When you have a cavity, our North Hollywood dental fillings dentist will need to remove the decayed area and restore it with a dental filling to restore its shape, function and appearance. Dental fillings can also be used to repair cracked or damaged areas of your teeth. They are most frequently made of amalgam, which is a metal material, or composite resin, which is a durable tooth-colored material. Tooth colored dental fillings are often preferred for their cosmetic benefits.
The area in which the filling will be placed will first be anesthetized in order to numb it. Once your tooth is numb, specialist for dental fillings in North Hollywood will remove the decayed area of tooth and carefully prepare it for the filling. If white dental fillings are used, the tooth will need to be isolated to prevent moisture from interfering with the bonding process. A lining may be placed to protect the tooth further, and then the composite resin will be applied layer by layer and cured using a special light. Our dentist will shape the tooth colored dental fillings further and polish them to a shine so that they match the rest of your teeth and resist staining.
If amalgam dental fillings are being used, the process may be somewhat different. Our North Hollywood cosmetic dentist will place retention grooves, which will hold the filling to your tooth. They will not be cured in the office, and the fillings may need to be handled gently for the remainder of the day whereas tooth colored dental fillings can be used as soon as you leave the office.