Durga Dental Care & Research Centre

What are the criteria for doing composite filling?

• Fore most criteria is presence of disease that is cavity or carious lesion.
• Patient should be able to keep the mouth open for a longer period than other fillings. We use mouth props, to help them tide over this difficulty.
• We should get an optimum dry field through out the procedure.
• In deep cavities, we would be using protective sub base and base to prevent any damage to pulp or to help the pulp to form a fresh layer of protective dentine under the filling.

What are the advantages of composite fillings over restoration options?

Due to different shades of composite, it blends with your natural tooth and is not noticeable or visible, Where as amalgam is black in colour.

It is more conservative as we need not to cut your healthy tooth for retention as in amalgam.

Can build up fractured edges of front teeth, where as full crown restoration or veneers need reduction of tooth and are more costly.

Early detection of recurrent caries under the margin as the margins are generally built up with more transparent composite.

What are the steps in the procedure?

1. Local anaesthesia may be used in case of deep lesions or patient’s need.
2. Cavity is prepared, that is the entire carious lesion is removed. We may use caries identifying dyes to clear all the infectious dentine.
3. An etchant is used to prepare the surface for bonding material. It is washed away after few seconds.
4. A bonding material is flowed on the prepared surface after drying up excess water. This flows in to the micro mechanical tags formed in the surface. Setting it with blue light hardens it.
5. Flowable or putty type composite material is used to fill he cavity in increments. Each increment is cured or hardened with blue light.
6. The filling is adjusted as per the occlusion, shaped and polished with the use of burs, wheels, strips and stones.

How long this filling last?

The material used in composite material is strong enough to last for 5-10 years, depending upon your eating habits and other activities. Generally, material itself does not break down. It’s the abrasion or the recurrent caries at the margin that necessitates the refilling.

We here carry the paid up value for all the restoration, if the patient is regular with his/ her check up schedule that is every 6 months.