Materials for denifinitive fillings

If the dentist has just removed caries and drilled a hole in the tooth, he or she must close this hole tightly so that no more bacteria from the oral cavity can enter the tooth and destroy it completely. For this purpose, the dentist uses a permanent filling. This filling is not replaced and at best remains in the tooth for several decades.

Among the classic definitive filling materials are plastic (so-called composites), amalgam and gold in the form of gold hammer fillings, but these are no longer used today. Fillings made of ceramic or porcelain do not exist. As a rule, when the layman speaks of ceramic fillings, he means a ceramic inlay.

Such fillings are in most cases made of composite.They can be made so well that you can no longer tell the difference between a tooth and a filling. This is possible because there are so many different colors available. The dentist can decide together with the patient which color best suits his own teeth.

The composite filling is light-cured and is modelled into the tooth using the so-called layering technique. As a member of the statutory health insurance companies, you have to pay a co-payment for such fillings? In most dental surgeries there is a form for this purpose, on which you confirm with your signature that you are willing to pay more money for the composite filling material.

How much the co-payment is is different in every practice, so it is worth comparing two dentists if you have several fillings. Between 40-100 Euros per area are incurred. So it can be that a single composite filling can be very expensive. Most statutory health insurance companies have agreed that composite fillings in the visible area, i.e. the front tooth area, are free of charge for the patient. Those insured with private health insurance companies receive these fillings from their respective health insurance companies.