Sunday, July 10, 2011

Innovation in Tooth Colored Fillings Crystal Lake Dental Associates

Mercury/silver fillings are rapidly going away.
The FDA and EPA have issues with the safety of mercury. It is released from the fillings in our teeth, and it pollutes the water we drink. Many people have raised issues with their safety as some are sensitive to low levels of mercury In addition, they are ugly to patients.

Tooth colored composite fillings are tricky to place properly.
The filling material is sensitive to moisture, shrinks on curing, and rarely is easy to handle. In addition several steps are needed to insure a tight seal, good contact with the neighbor tooth, good anatomy, no sensitivity to biting, complete hardening, and no voids in the filling. Many dentists struggle for years developing a technique that meets all of these goals. Tooth colored fillings must be hardened with a light. The light only penetrates a few millimeters into the material requiring a layering of the filling. Regular filling material does not flow into tiny crevices leading to gaps. Regular filling material shrinks on hardening, and must be placed in special ways to control the shrinking.

Now comes SonicFill
SonicFill

A sonically activated material that flows during placement. In addition it can be placed to a depth of 5 mm and still hardened completely. And finally, it has almost no shrinkage during hardening so sensitivity is eliminated. SonicFill is just as hard as any other filling material when cured. It can be shaped after placement and holds its shape.

How does it work?
The material is squirted into the cavity with a special hand-piece that produces a sonic vibration wave while squirting. This vibration liquefies the material as it is coming out. The material flows into the tooth and fills it with no voids. Once the sonic hand-piece is stopped the material thickens and can be molded. Since the material can be hardened up to 5 mm deep, and it does not shrink, a large amount can be placed at one time and cured. This allows for rapid filling and hardening of the material saving a few minutes per tooth.



What does this mean to the patient?
Shorter appointments for fillings, better fillings, and no sensitivity. In addition, the dentist will be less stressed when filling the tooth (trying to control all of the variables mentioned above while filling the tooth is quite stressful).

I think SonicFill is a revolution in placing tooth colored fillings in back teeth.



Your Comments are welcome.

2 comments:

  1. These are so amazing! My dad has had fillings for a really long time that are silver. They always fall out and they've started to stain his teeth. I'm glad that someone figured out fillings that are tooth-colored and that stay in better. And it sounds like they're still pretty affordable.

    Gerald Vonberger | http://frisingerdental.com/dental-fillings.html

    ReplyDelete

About Me

My photo
Born in the Midwest. Married with 6 children and 3 grandchildren. Attended Maine West High School, Harper Jr College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. Practice in Crystal Lake, Illinois.