Amalgams and tooth coloured materials (composite resins) are available for permanent restorations in masticatory loaded teeth. All other materials, like glass ionomer cements or compomeres, can only be regarded as temporary filling materials.

In order to choose the most suitable material, several aspects have to be considered, including the individual dental situation, the general state of health, aesthetic claims and the expense of time and money involved.

Statements about the durability of fillings can only be given on the basis of statistic research as the individual durability does not only depend on the material used but also on numerous other factors, including dental care. In general, amalgam fillings in masticatory loaded teeth are expected to last, in average, up to six to ten years; under favourable conditions the durability can even be longer.

Composite fillings can claim a comparably long durability, in particular on the condition that the dentist takes care of certain rules concerning the handling of this material. The defect proposed to be filled should be framed by dental enamel and should be kept dry during the therapy.

The composite is placed in the tooth in small portions and hardened by halogen light. This procedure enables an individual colouring of the filling, which hardly differs from a natural tooth, thereby satisfying highest aesthetical claims. This advantage over amalgam becomes increasingly important today.

The risks of general and local side effects of dental restoration materials are, assuming proper application, relatively low.

If you need restorations in anterior teeth, it is possible to apply invisible or almost invisible restorations in many cases.

In case your restorations are visible, several reasons could account for it. Brown margins on restorations for example can indicate a leakage between the tooth and the restoration resulting form red wine or from tobacco, tee and coffee. The whole restoration is discolored particularly when the restorations are older. One reason therefore is that older restoration materials are not as resistant against discoloration as current materials. Moreover, brown margins on restorations could indicate a caries lesion.

Whatever the reason for the discoloration's of the restoration is, in most cases we can eliminate the esthetic problem. Sometimes it is sufficient to simply polish the restoration. In this case polishing is better than to replace the discolored restoration, what would lead unavoidably to loss of healthy tooth material.

If the dentist has to replace the restoration and the cavity is not too extended after preparation he can replace the restoration with a new one. Nowadays the materials your dentist is using, so called composite materials, have almost no side effects.

It is important to know, that in some cases the patient has to pay for the treatment in addition to the payments of his health insurance. For instance if the esthetic problem is more time consuming than a regular replacement of a front teeth restoration or if a special, more expensive composite material is being used. If so, the dentist will inform the patient before beginning of the treatment.

Prior to cavity preparation the appropriate shade of the teeth will be determined. Therefore the teeth have to be cleaned and to be polished with a prophylaxis paste in order to remove any discoloration's from natural tooth. The best treatment to clean the teeth before the tooth restoration is a professional tooth cleaning performed by a dental hygienist. Your new composite filling should be polished in a separate appointment a few days after the initial treatment. This kind of esthetic restoration will prevent the tooth from new damage and will stay invisible over several years.