How Long Do Composite Fillings Last on a Front Tooth?

Presently if you need a cavity on your front tooth restored, dentists will likely recommend tooth-coloured composite fillings to ensure your smile isn’t impacted. However, you might have questions about how long the filler will remain in the cavity to protect your tooth because you might assume metal fillings are the most durable.

Composite fillings easily adhere to your tooth enamel and need less tooth structure removal when fixing your tooth. Composite fillings are also beneficial because they don’t expand or corrode, similar to metal fillings. However, their lifespan is considerably shorter, lasting only five to seven years, than metal fillings lasting over a decade.

The durability of these tooth-coloured fillings is determined by various factors like your oral hygiene habits, the location of the placement in your mouth, your diet, and habits like bruxism. However, if your dentist recommends composite fillings in Calgary, AB, rest assured the fillers will serve their purpose of protecting your tooth if you follow your dentist’s recommendations and care for them appropriately.

What Is a Composite Filling?

Tooth-coloured composite fillings are metal free because a mixture of plastic and glass helps make them. The material helping make them is known as composite resin, which is customizable to blend with your natural tooth colour.

Composite fillings help restore teeth in different places throughout your mouth. However, the location of the restoration affects their lifespan. For example, if you receive composite resin fillings on your molars where biting pressures are higher, they may wear out faster. However, you can expect the fillers to last their lifespan if you receive front teeth fillings. However, if the fillers wear out, you can receive replacements from the dentist to continue protecting your tooth.

How Many Times Can Composite Fillings Be Replaced?

If you have fillings on tooth, it confirms that tooth decay has permanently damaged it, making the need for protection essential with fillers. You cannot afford to leave a cavity untreated because it expands until it reaches the soft center of your tooth to create considerable problems.

Composite fillings offer protection for five to seven years, but you can extend their longevity by caring for your mouth and teeth as your dentist recommends. Unfortunately, if the filling fails, you can have it replaced whenever you notice the damage and get similar fillers in your tooth to continue the protection.

Is a Composite Filling Suitable for Front Teeth?

When you develop cavities on your front teeth, would you like to consider silver amalgam or gold fillings on them? We are confident you wouldn’t want to appear like a gangster in the movies showing metal in your mouth. Instead, you might prefer composite fillings specifically created to blend with your remaining teeth and remain inconspicuous in your mouth.

Composite fillings are created explicitly for the front teeth to ensure they don’t impact your smile. The tooth-coloured material blends with your other teeth but requires appropriate care to ensure you don’t damage them faster than expected.

Factors That Can Adversely Impact Composite Fillings

Your oral hygiene habits determine the durability of composite fillings, whether on front teeth or your molars. Composite fillings adhere firmly to your tooth’s enamel, but surrounding decay can cause complications. If you intend to avoid damage to the filling or decay around it brushing and flossing without exceptions are essential. These tasks help reduce bacteria and the risks of developing tooth decay.

Your diet can also increase the wear on composite fillings because some foods can damage them. Dentists recommend avoiding complex and chewy foods to preserve composite fillers. Some foods you must avoid are candies, dried fruits, nuts, and ice. The foods might not damage the fillers instantly, but constantly having them will undoubtedly cause wear and tear.

If the problem of bruxism affects you receiving help from the Calgary dentist to overcome the issue safeguards your composite fillings in the cavity and your teeth from suffering additional enamel erosion to make you prone to receiving more fillers. Bruxism causes you to grind and clench your teeth to eventually damage them and need further treatments from dentists. However, if you discuss the issue with the dentist, they provide custom-created night guards to protect your teeth and the fillings you received in the front teeth.

Composite fillings stay on your teeth for the period described earlier. However, you can also extend their longevity by remaining cautious with your mouth-related habits, diet, and dental hygiene.

East Hills Dental Clinic recommends composite fillers to patients needing restoration of their front teeth. If you have a cavity on an anterior tooth and consider getting it fixed, please arrange a meeting with this practice to restore your tooth.