Month: March 2018

Silver, it’s not a good look

Silver fillings. They’re not truly silver, are they? They’re not made of silver, and frankly, they don’t look silver either. In your mouth, they look dark, glinty grey. They may protect your teeth, but they don’t do a whole lot for your image, and if you’ve got a lot of them, you may feel too self-conscious to laugh. There’s no hiding your past love affair with sugar when you’ve got silver fillings.

So, why not replace old silver fillings in Banbury? Why not indeed! Here are some good reasons why, because yes, there are even more than the fact that they don’t look so nice.

Replace Old Silver Fillings in BanburyTeeth filled with white fillings are stronger

If you need a new filling, then have a white one, please. When we put in a silver filling we have to remove a greater amount of healthy tooth material than when we use white composite material. This means the tooth is much stronger with a white filling and more likely to withstand years of chewing.

Less chance of decay under white fillings

When we put in a white filling, we layer in the composite material, curing each layer with a special light. It bonds seamlessly to the sides of the cavity, leaving no space for decay-causing bacteria to be able to sneak in. Silver fillings are packed into the cavity, tight against the inside of the tooth, but there is no way to bond the two together, so there is always the chance for decay to happen underneath the filling.

White fillings have replica chewing surfaces

When you have white fillings, we build up the layers and when they have been hardened we can sculpt them to recreate the mounds and valley of your lost molar. We’ll get you to bite down on carbon paper every now and then as we sculpt so we can make sure your teeth bite together really well. Conversely, amalgam, which is a pretty soft material, cannot be sculpted and so you end with a tooth with a flat centre to it, which is far less efficient at grinding up your food for swallowing.

Go white with Amsel & Wilkins

Nothing says youth and health as well as a lovely set of pearly white teeth. How are yours looking after the winter and all that tea, red wine, coffee and other staining foods, not to mention tobacco? Bit on the yellow/grey side? How about when you laugh? Are you advertising your dental history to the world with rows of dark, glinty amalgam fillings?

All in all, it’s not a combo that’s going to create a dazzling smile, so maybe now is the time to go white in Banbury, with your trusty dental team here at Amsel & Wilkins.

Go White in BanburyWhite fillings

Did you know that white fillings make stronger teeth than amalgam fillings? That’s because your dentist doesn’t need to remove as much as healthy tooth material to put in a white filling. Also, the composite materials we use, bond to the inside of the teeth, so your filling is impenetrable by sneaky, decay-causing bacteria. Not so with amalgam, which sits inside the cavity and can allow bacteria to enter between it and the tooth. And, another big plus is that white fillings can be sculpted to recreate the mounds and valleys of an effective chewing surface, where amalgam can only lie flat within the tooth.

Several good reasons to go white next time you need a filling, or to get one replaced. Or why not have all your amalgam fillings replaced at once? You’re going to love tipping your head back to laugh again if you do.

Teeth whitening

Our teeth naturally get yellower as we age and the thinning enamel reveals the yellow dentin below. This, or staining as described above, can be transformed with the Zoom! whitening system.

Power whitening in the clinic takes about an hour to lighten your teeth by several shades. Protective barriers are put over your lips and gums before we paint your teeth with the whitener, which is then activated by a UV lamp.

Whitening at home takes a couple of weeks of wearing custom-made gel trays every day for a short period. The advantage of home whitening is that you can top up your treatment at any time.

Getting your fillings changed and your teeth whitened will help your confidence in your smile to go through the roof.