Dental fillings and crowns in Jacksonville can save your healthy smile.

While they are similar in many ways, fillings and crowns are quite different in others. Fillings and crowns are identical because both are types of restorative dentistry that help restore the appearance and function of your teeth, for example. Still, they do it in very different ways.

The similarities and differences between fillings and crowns can be confusing. This is especially true when you have a cavity or other painful dental problem. Fortunately, our dentist in Jacksonville can help you learn about these two options and understand when you might need a filling versus a crown.

Jacksonville Dentist Describes Dental Fillings

Dental fillings repair small holes or cracks in teeth. They most commonly treat cavities. As their name implies, fillings fill the hole created by a cavity and its treatment.

Your dentist must remove the decayed material from the affected tooth to place a filling. This procedure starts by numbing the tooth. Next, your dentist removes the decaying tooth enamel from the cavity to stop the tooth decay from getting worse. Finally, your dentist fills the tooth with a filling, a liquid material that hardens to seal the tooth’s surface.

The filling prevents food and bacteria from entering the tooth. Although fillings can be pretty small when treating early tooth decay, also known as dental caries, they can also treat significant tooth decay.

Dentists may also use oral fillings to treat other dental problems, such as:

• Injured or broken teeth in which enough of the tooth enamel has chipped off to expose the tooth to decay
• Worn-out or eroded teeth

Materials used in dental fillings

In the early days of dentistry, most dentists used silver amalgam, also known as silver fillings. This material is a mixture of silver alloy and mercury. Many in the scientific community warn that the material may release low levels of mercury in the form of a vapor that the patient can inhale. Silver fillings are also noticeable, especially in the front teeth.

The most advanced dental practices use fillings made from BPA-free composite materials. Composite fillings contain a mixture of powdered glass and plastic resin that looks like natural tooth material and does not contain mercury.

Dentist in Jacksonville Discusses Dental Crowns

Dental crowns are tooth-shaped caps that fit over the entire surface of a tooth, somewhat like a snug hat.

Dentists may recommend dental crowns for several reasons, such as:

• Repairing a cracked or broken tooth
• Fixing a badly decayed tooth
• Protecting a tooth after root canal treatment
• Protecting a weak tooth
• Holding a dental bridge or denture in place
• Covering a stained or poorly shaped tooth
• Holding a tooth together after a large filling, when there is more filling material than tooth enamel

Placing a crown often takes two visits. During the first visit, your dentist will remove any tooth decay, fill the tooth, perform a root canal, or do other procedures to prepare the tooth for a dental crown. One of these procedures is to remove a small amount of tooth enamel to make room for the crown.

Dentists who use old technology create an impression of the tooth to send to a dental laboratory, where a technician makes the crown. You’ll wear a temporary crown until your permanent restoration is ready.

Dentists who use CEREC technology do not need to make impressions—instead, they make a 3D impression of the tooth using a computer and camera. Using the 3D image, they will then mill your crown from a biocompatible ceramic block in their office. Your crown will be ready in just about 20 minutes. Our dentist will check the fit and then bond the crown to the prepared tooth. No second visit is required! What’s more, a 3D-printed tooth by CEREC usually involves removing less enamel than traditional crowns.

For more information about dental fillings, crowns, and other restoration options, consult Smiles by Shields. Our cosmetic dentist, Dr. Tiffany Shields, offers mercury-free/mercury-safe, fluoride-free holistic family dentistry in Jacksonville. Smiles by Shields is the cosmetic dentist Jacksonville residents rely on for great smiles.