Tooth-Coloured Restorations Toronto

Even when we strive to take great care of our teeth with an excellent home care routine and regular visits to our dentist, many of us will still develop a cavity or need a chipped tooth repaired at some point. It’s important to stop the progression of decay or repair a broken tooth as soon as possible, and we can often do this with dental fillings, bonding, porcelain veneers, or crowns.

In the past, dentists used a metal material known as amalgam to fill cavities and restore teeth. However, amalgam hasn’t always offered the most aesthetic appearance or the best structural integrity for your teeth, which is why composite resin is now our material of choice for dental fillings and other small cosmetic repairs.

At Toronto Lakeshore Dental, we offer several options for tooth-coloured restorations to restore your teeth so you can talk, smile and chew with confidence again. If you've considered enhancing your smile, or you have teeth in need of repair, we'd love to discuss your options and possibilities with you. Contact your Etobicoke dentist at (416) 503-3335 to schedule an evaluation.

When you know how tooth decay starts, you can avoid it and save yourself time and money in the dental chair.

Most of us understand that sugar causes cavities, but do you know how? It really isn't sugar itself causing tooth decay, but rather the reaction it starts within your mouth.

Plaque is a sticky white film that builds up on your teeth after you eat meals. The bacteria that live in plaque use sugar as food and fuel. When you consume sugar, it feeds the bacteria, which in turn produces acid as a by-product. This acid is produced by the bacteria that eat away at tooth enamel and creates cavities or holes in your teeth that your dentist has to fill.

Brushing your teeth twice each day helps eliminate plaque from your tooth's surface, while flossing removes it from in between your teeth. A good home care routine can help you prevent cavities from developing.

Consistent visits to your dentist every six months for teeth cleanings and checkups are another important line of defence against problems like tooth decay, gum disease, and cavities. Teeth cleanings remove excess plaque buildup from your teeth that's easy to miss at home, while examinations with your dentist can help detect decay in its earliest stages when it's easiest to treat with a simple dental filling.

Tooth decay that's left undiagnosed and untreated can result in more damage to your tooth and could ultimately end up reaching the nerve of your tooth and causing an infection. If decay reaches the nerve of your tooth, you'll need a more complex treatment like a root canal to eliminate the infection and save your tooth.

Besides its unappealing dark grey appearance, there are also structural problems with metal fillings. It also expands and contracts with heat and cold. Because of the many temperature changes your mouth experiences each day, over time, the metal will expand and contract and eventually pull away from your tooth.

When your amalgam filling pulls away from your tooth, it allows bacteria back into it causing decay, or sometimes even infection in your tooth. This is one reason why many patients opt to replace their old metal fillings with composite material.

While metal is a very durable material, it doesn’t bond directly to your tooth, which means that your dentist has to remove more of your natural tooth to place your filling properly. Our goal is to protect and preserve as much of your natural tooth as possible for as long as you can, and tooth-coloured fillings allow us to more effectively help you do that. 

What Is Composite Resin?

Composite resin is a tooth-coloured pliable, yet durable material that bonds directly to your tooth. Not only does this add strength to your tooth, but it also provides longevity to your restoration. Composite can be custom shaded to match your tooth and provide a seamless look to your smile.

No more having visible grey spots in your teeth when you talk or laugh!

Since composite is customizable, our dentists can also use it for a cosmetic procedure called dental bonding, which can repair minor issues such as:

• Small chipping or fractures
• Excessive wear
• Gaps between teeth
• Changing the shape of misshapen teeth
• Covering discoloration or staining

Dental bonding is a relatively non-invasive and quick procedure that you can typically complete in one appointment. If you're looking to make small changes to your smile, this cosmetic dental procedure is usually less expensive than other treatments.

Talk with your team at Toronto Lakeshore Dental if you feel like your teeth might benefit from dental bonding.

Most of us were not born with perfect smiles, and many people think that having a beautiful smile is something that only the rich and famous can afford. However, these days that is simply not true.

A procedure like porcelain veneers allows your dentist to completely change your tooth's size and shape by covering it with thin layers of porcelain. Bonded directly to your tooth, these thin slivers of porcelain provide durability while covering many of the same imperfections that dental bonding does. When you can change your tooth's structure, you can design a more symmetrical and beautiful smile, and this is what dental veneers in Etobicoke allow you to do.

Porcelain veneers can also be custom shaded to match your teeth or enhance their colour and brightness. Since they are stain-resistant, you won't have to worry about needing teeth whitening products to keep your smile bright.

You can use veneers to restore one or a few teeth, but they are best utilized when redesigning your smile's appearance. If you're interested in this type of procedure, our dentists will create a personalized treatment plan for you to meet your specific smile goals.

Composite resin fillings are what we choose for our patients at our Toronto dental office because of the health and structural benefits they offer. Our patients love them because of the clean and aesthetic appearance they provide. We’re happy to discuss replacing old amalgam fillings with composite with you if that's of interest, and if you have a tooth in need of repair, this is the material that we use and recommend for your oral health.

Dental bonding, porcelain veneers, and crowns are great options to discuss with your dentist if you'd like to change the appearance of your smile. Our dentists have the skills, expertise, and experience to help patients create their perfect smiles. These restorations can repair or even change your tooth's appearance to design the symmetrical smile you want.

Let our dentists help you achieve the beautiful smile you deserve!

If you’d like to learn more about how tooth-coloured fillings, dental bonding, or porcelain veneers may benefit you, give Toronto Lakeshore Dental a call today at (416) 503-3335 to book an evaluation with one of our dentists.