Durability of plastic fillings | Tooth filling with plastic

Durability of plastic fillings

Plastic dental fillings are a material that enters into an intimate relationship with the tooth, which means that it sticks very firmly to the tooth and is therefore very dense. Bacteria can no longer slip into the gap between the tooth and the plastic filling and destroy the tooth. This means that a professionally manufactured plastic filling has a very long durability.

The plastic filling sticks very firmly to the tooth and thus stabilizes the tooth. This extends the durability of the tooth and the filling in equal measure. Because the plastic cannot be loosened by chewing or saliva, it does not become less.

The durability can therefore be considered very high. The durability of plastic fillings is further extended by the fact that plaque and bacteria do not or hardly ever deposit on plastic. The plastic is very smooth and therefore offers little hold to them.

However, the durability of a plastic filling can be reduced by insufficient drying during the filling of the tooth. If the filling is not kept dry, it is possible that the plastic does not bond firmly to the tooth, which can lead to gaps through which bacteria can enter the tooth. For this reason, rubber dams are used for filling.

This is a rubber blanket which is stretched over the patient’s mouth and only the tooth to be filled or even its neighboring teeth are not covered by the rubber. On the one hand this protects the other teeth and on the other hand the saliva cannot disturb during the filling and the dryness is guaranteed. If it is not possible to place a rubber dam, it is possible to achieve relative dryness by using cotton rolls and careful suction.

Are there allergies to plastic fillings?

Plastic tooth fillings usually consist of a kind of plasticine that is brought into the tooth. The mass is then irradiated with ultraviolet light to let it harden. The plastic fillings are light-curing.

The plastic fillings contain acrylates. If an allergy to acrylates is known, a plastic filling should be avoided. Only very few people suffer from an allergy to acrylates, since acrylates are found in numerous objects of our everyday life.

It is more than rare that people actually develop an allergy to their plastic tooth filling and then show clear symptoms. In most cases, another filling, a crown or even a brace can be identified as the cause of the allergy. Once a plastic filling is fixed in the tooth, the saliva can no longer extract any components.

However, without dissolved components, which are absorbed into the body’s own cells, no allergy can be caused. Tooth fillings made of amalgam are much more dangerous to health. By chewing, the smallest particles of mercury can be dissolved and absorbed into the body. Increased mercury levels in the body in many amalgam fillings are not necessarily rare.Plastic fillings can be considered as harmless to health. That they cause an allergy is more than unlikely.