Tooth Color Fillings are made of a mixture of plastic and fine glass particles.
Direct and Indirect Fillings
Direct fillings are placed by your Dentist using a bright blue light that hardens the soft material. Indirect fillings require your Dentist to take an impression, and a laboratory will make the filling. During a second visit, your Dentist will cement this filling in place. Tooth Color Fillings made of Ceramic are versatile, and can be used for both small and large fillings. They are very popularly used in front teeth and the visible parts of back teeth, as well as for inlays.
Durability
Tooth color fillings will last approximately five years, and cost more than amalgam fillings, but less than gold.
Your fillings or inlay will match the color of your teeth, and a filling can be completed in one dental visit. An inlay may require two visits. Composite fillings can bond directly to the tooth, making the tooth stronger than it would be with an amalgam filling. Less drilling is involved with Ceramic tooth colored fillings than with amalgam fillings, because your dentist does not have to shape the space as much to hold the filling securely. The bonding process holds the composite resin in the tooth. Indirect composite fillings and inlays are heat-cured, which increases their strength. Composite resin can be used in combination with other materials, such as glass ionomer, to provide the benefits of both materials.