Here at Star Ranch Dental we provide only the best in overall care for our patients. We sit down with each of our patients and explain to them why we feel a specific dental treatment or procedure is needed. Dr. Barnett is very thorough in his approach  with his patients, and does the work necessary to promote not only optimum results with your teeth and gums, but also your overall health and well being. It is because of this commitment to a high standards level, among other reasons, that we only do tooth colored fillings (white fillings) in our office.

Benefits of Tooth Colored Fillings (White Fillings):

• Your tooth shade is matched to the filling material as close as possible. Patients leave our office asking if we really did anything to their teeth due to the fact they can’t see anything but the natural color of their teeth!

• These fillings require no further modification of your tooth structure for bonding – they are placed safely with chemicals that harden in seconds!

Other types of tooth fillings, and their drawbacks:

Dental Amalgam

While a bit cheaper than tooth colored fillings, this material contains up to 55% of elemental mercury.

• Mercury is not good to put in the mouth or body; doing so may expose the patient to harmful toxins. Using tooth colored fillings also prevents the risk of mercury leaking out and amalgam tattooing – a dark discoloring around the filling, often mistaken by patients for a cavity; and is unsightly in your smile’s appearance.

• Over time all tooth fillings wear down and can weaken in structure. When this happens, chances are the mercury contained in this filling material could leak. As the filling weakens, the tooth can also break.

• As an amalgam filling ages, non polished material oxidizes and will often change color from silver to black. (Polished amalgam will not oxidize – making it an important step your dentist should take if using this material.) This process will also cause dark discoloration to areas around the filling, including gums that are nearby.  Amalgam tattooing is a dark area on the tooth that is left behind from old amalgam, even after the filling has been removed by your dentist.

Gold Inlays

Although gold fillings are long lasting, and work better with your body than dental amalgam – these types of dental fillings are more expensive, and do require more than one visit to complete. Still, in the right circumstances, Dr. Barnett will recommend them as a first choice.

When choosing from your options for restoring teeth that have cracked, chipped, or decayed you’ll want to consider the strength, aesthetics, cost and longevity of the dental filling material that will be used. When teeth have broken large parts of themselves, Dr. Barnett will utilize porcelain for onlays (partial crowns).

After many years of working with various dental cases and materials, composite resin (tooth colored, or white, fillings) is the most common and suitable solution for restoring your teeth to a natural-looking, strong state – while leaving your body risk-free from harmful toxins used in other materials used in tooth fillings.