(412) 343-9999Metal-Free Restorations
Dental Restorations That Look and Feel Great
Whether you have a cavity that needs to be filled or minor cosmetic flaws you’d like to correct, Dr. Colleen Cain can use metal-free restorations in Castle Shannon to give you a healthy smile that also looks fantastic. The materials she uses are not only strong and long-lasting, but also perfectly matched to the existing color of your teeth so it’s practically impossible for other people to tell that you’ve had dental work. If you’d like to learn more or want to schedule a visit with us, give us a call!
What Are Metal-Free Dental Restorations?
At one time, the only way to fill a tooth was using a mixture (also called an amalgam) of metals, including mercury, tin, silver, and copper. Now, Dr. Cain can use materials that don’t contain metal at all such as BPA-free composite resin, ceramic, and porcelain. In addition to being tooth-colored, these materials have been shown to be safe for both your dental and general health. They can also be used for everything from simple dental fillings, cosmetic bonding (also called direct bonding), crowns, bridges, and more.
What Are the Benefits of Metal-Free Restorations?
As a general and cosmetic dentist in Castle Shannon, Dr. Cain loves helping her patients feel great about the way their smile looks. But she also recommends metal-free restorations because of these additional benefits:
- Metal-free fillings are more conservative, meaning that less of your existing tooth structure needs to be removed. The more of your natural tooth that we can conserve, the healthier the tooth will be.
- Metal fillings can cause fractures to develop in your teeth over time. This occurs because metal expands and contracts rapidly in response to hot and cold, such as when you have coffee and ice cream in the same sitting. Metal-free materials don’t have this risk.
- Metal-free restorations won’t make you feel self-conscious about smiling or laughing, which is important for your self-confidence.
What Is the Procedure Like?
The first step is a visit with Dr. Cain to determine what type of procedure you need. Common options are either a filling, direct bonding, or a dental crown. Here are the basics of how each one works:
- Metal-Free Fillings or Bonding – If we’re doing a filling to repair a cavity, we’ll start by removing the decayed part of your tooth. Then we’ll fill the space with composite material, shape it, and cure (harden) it with a special light. If we’re doing cosmetic bonding, we’ll simply apply the composite material to your tooth before shaping and curing it.
- Metal-Free Crowns – First, we’ll reduce your tooth in size so your new crown doesn’t look or feel bulky. Next, we’ll take impressions, which will be used by a dental lab to custom-make your crown to our exact specifications. Then after we’ve put a temporary crown on your tooth, you’ll return 1-2 weeks later to have the permanent crown cemented into place.