When you visit our office, we carefully analyze your individual needs and wants, and custom tailor a treatment plan for your consideration. Using digital imagery and computerized charting, our professional and friendly staff can outline your exact dental status, and make informed suggestions for your optimal oral health. Our dentists, staff, and hygienists are highly trained in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cavities and can recommend an  ideal treatment plan for every individual.

After an ill fitting restoration or decay is removed from a tooth, a filling is placed to restore function, integrity, and morphology of the missing tooth structure. Our office is completely mercury-free, that means we only use composite “white filling” material to restore teeth. We are completely up-to-date on research and technology and ensure that you are not exposed to harmful Bisphenols when restoring your mouth to proper function. There are many options for restoring tooth structure and we take several factors into account when we choose which one you will receive.

In a direct restoration, the technique involves placing a soft or malleable material into the prepared tooth and building up the tooth incrementally. A visible white light is used to initiate the reaction and cure the composite material. These type of direct fillings are advantageous because of the quick set time and can be placed in a single procedure. The material is required to set while in contact with the tooth, so we assure that limited energy is passed to the tooth from the setting process so as not to damage your tooth. “White fillings” or dental composites are used in direct fillings.

Indirect restorations are fabricated outside the mouth using dental impressions of the prepared tooth. This requires a second visit to complete the restoration process. Though it may sound burdensome, more intricate details can be prepared for these restorations, and because the material is set or cured outside of the mouth then cemented with a thin layer of strong composite cement, there is practically no shrinkage translating to sensitivity of the restored tooth. These restorations perform wonderfully when a large portion of the tooth needs to be restored. Inlays and Onlays can sometimes be offered as a conservative alternative to a full coverage crown. Using local laboratories with trusted reputations we require of them the most modern products available in dentistry.

Common indirect restorations include inlays and onlays, as well as crowns, bridges, and veneers. The finished restoration is usually bonded permanently with a resin cement. Common materials are gold or ceramics, though inlays and onlays can be made in the laboratory from dental composites. These materials are similar to those used in direct fillings. They can be modified directly in the mouth if needed in the future, but are not as durable as porcelain or metal restorations and are more susceptible to discoloration and wear.

Whatever your restorative dentistry needs, Weatherhill Dental is available to serve you in Wilmington, DE.