There are four different choices that you have when it comes to filling a cavity.

1. Composite Fillings - Natural tooth-colored filling, bonds to the tooth to provide added security.
2. Silver Fillings - Inexpensive and strong amalgam based filling.
3. Gold Fillings - More attractive than silver and provide for a better fit.
4. Porcelain Fillings - Also called inlays; the most attractive and durable of the tooth colored choices.

Composite fillings are today's modern filling choice. They are made to match your tooth's natural color to make them virtually invisible to notice and are placed onto the tooth by bonding the filling material to the tooth so they do not have the unlikely chance of falling off. Many patients choose to replace their old silver and gold fillings with composite fillings.

Other Benefits:

• Beautiful in appearance
• Completed in a single visit
• No filling leaks
• Less chance of tooth cracking

SonicFill is the only easy to use, sonic-activated, bulk fill dental composite system for posterior restorations that requires no additional capping layer. Proprietary sonic activation enables a rapid flow of composite into the cavity for effortless placement and superior adaptation. It's that fast, easy and effective, greatly reducing procedure time. Now you can go from placement to a polished restoration in less than 3 minutes on cavities up to 5 mm in depth.

There is now new technology that allows you to replace old silver and gold fillings with a more natural looking, composite filling. Composite fillings are bonded to the tooth and research has proven them to be about 90% as strong and healthy as natural tooth material.

Old fillings have been known to break down overtime, creating the potential for cavities, pain or even cracking the tooth itself! Composite fillings can be completed in a single visit, look and function like your natural teeth and have less of a chance of problems in the future.

You can think of a dental inlay or onlay as being midway between a filling and a crown. Inlays or onlays are used when not enough tooth structure remains to support a filling, but the tooth is not so severely damaged that it needs a crown.

An inlay is similar to a filling, but it lies within the cusps (bumps) on the chewing surface of your tooth. An onlay is more extensive than an inlay and covers one or more cusps.

Inlays or onlays can be made of gold, composite resin (plastic) or ceramics. They can last for decades. However, how long they last depends on the material used, the teeth involved, the forces of chewing and how well the patient maintains them with good oral hygiene and regular visits to a dentist.