Dental fillings will last between 5 and 12 years, depending on the quality of the filling, the care the patient puts into their teeth, and the nature of the filling itself. Some fillings will last longer than others, depending on their location on the tooth and in the mouth. 

Keeping up with routine dental appointments will allow your dentist to monitor the health of the teeth and the fillings throughout the years and discuss any concerns they have about the filling with you. If they notice any issues with them, or you report issues of your own, like pain and discomfort, it may be time to get the filling replaced.

Taking Care of Your Fillings

Practicing excellent oral hygiene is essential. It may be that subpar dental care has played a role in the formation of the cavity.

There is no time like the present to learn to brush and floss correctly.

Wear appropriate mouth protection for sports and sleeping if you compete athletically or grind your teeth to avoid damage to the filling and tooth. 

Dental Filling Experts

Cook Family Dental is proud to provide composite tooth-colored fillings to the greater South Birmingham, AL area. Contact us today if you are looking for a filling or need an appointment to check the health of your teeth.

Once you have arrived at your scheduled appointment with the dentist, our Cook Family Dental team will make you feel comfortable and relaxed for your procedure.

A filling procedure is relatively simple, taking between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on the severity and location of the cavity. 

Many people feel anxious or scared about visiting the dentist for a procedure like a filling. Before the process actually begins, the dentist will use a local anesthetic to ensure that the patient feels no pain during the procedure.

What is the procedure like?

After the location is numb and the patient is feeling comfortable, the dentist will begin the procedure. It starts with drilling away the decayed and infected tooth material; then the area is sterilized and sealed with a filling. The fillings are set, and the procedure is complete. It may take a few hours for feeling to return to the numbed area.

With our tooth-colored fillings, the filling is color-matched to the tooth and becomes virtually invisible, protecting the quality of your smile.

Birmingham, AL Filling Specialist

If you are looking for a dentist you can trust to provide the highest quality composite tooth-colored fillings, contact Cook Family Dental.

At Cook Family Dental, we approach any dental treatment with an eye toward protecting your oral health while also taking aesthetics into account. When it comes to basic dental treatments, fillings are the most common and essential to protecting the health of your natural teeth.

Advanced Dental Technology

With updated dental materials, it is now possible to create dental fillings that match your natural teeth perfectly. In fact, tooth-colored fillings are so natural-looking that you may not be able to tell which tooth you had filled!

Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings

Apart from their lifelike appearance, tooth-colored fillings have other benefits. Because composite material can be shaded to match the color of your teeth, it can also be used to repair cracks and chips in your teeth and to fill in small gaps between teeth.

Another benefit of composite fillings is that we only need to remove the decayed portion of your tooth. This is important because we always want to preserve as much of your natural tooth as possible.

Contact Our Office

If you need to have a tooth filled and would like more information about how composite fillings can benefit you, please contact our Birmingham dental office. We will be happy to make an appointment to determine if tooth-colored fillings are the best option in your case.