A dental filling is useful for restoring a tooth damaged by decay back to its appropriate functionality and structure. When a dentist performs a dental filling, he or she first removes the decayed tooth material, cleans up the affected area, and then carefully fills the cleaned out the dental cavity with a filling material.

The significant advantages of filling include closing off spaces where bacteria or other microbes can enter and cause infection and a filling also protects individuals from further decay. Materials used for fillings include gold, porcelain, a composite resin (tooth-colored fillings), and an amalgam

Type of filling materials
The most appropriate filling varies from person to person, depending on the extent of the repair, allergy to specific substances, the area of your mouth where the filling is needed, and the cost. Examples of dental filling materials include:

• Gold Fillings
• Amalgam (silver) fillings (or an alloy of mercury, silver, copper, tin & sometimes zinc)
• Composite (plastic) resins
• Porcelain fillings also are known as inlays or on-lays

How Do I Know if I Need a Filling?
Only your dentist like those of Hylan Dental Arts can determine whether you need a filling or not, depending on whether a cavity is detected during the dental examination. During a scheduled or regular dental checkup, our dentist will use a small mirror to examine the surfaces of every tooth.