Dr. Danielle AKry specializes in matching tooth-colored fillings to your natural enamel shade. She invites you to call her office in Century City, California, to schedule an appointment for an exam, cleaning, or cavity treatment using composite fillings.

Tooth-Colored Fillings are Made of Composite Resin

Composite Resin consists of high-grade plastics and glass particles. It provides a natural, enamel-like appearance when used to fill cavities, repair cracked or chipped teeth, and even improve the appearance of permanently discolored teeth; formulated to withstand biting and chewing forces, composite resin bonds to your tooth’s structure, preventing further decay from damaging the tooth.

Composite Resin Can Be Matched to the Color of Your Natural Teeth

Using the shade-matching technique, Dr. Akry blends Composite Resin with a specific catalyst to replicate the enamel color of your other teeth. After achieving the desired color, Dr. Akry layers the Resin onto the tooth and polishes the filling once it hardens.

Composite Fillings Require Less Removal of Enamel Compared to Dental Amalgams

Dental amalgams do not chemically bond to teeth like composite Resin, requiring more enamel removal to prepare the cavity. Silver fillings simply “sit” in the cavity, held in place by the cavity’s dimensions. Natural wear-and-tear on teeth changes the cavity’s shape, often leading to silver fillings falling out. In addition, biting down in a certain way on a silver filling can dislodge the filling since it never bonds to the cavity.

Composites Can Last Up to 15 Years

Good oral hygiene and regular dental exams will extend the life of most tooth-colored fillings. Larger composite or molar resin fillings may experience more wear and tear and must be replaced sooner than resin fillings in front teeth. Composite resins fill the cavities in molars due to their wear-resistant and enhanced strength properties.

Composite Fillings are Cured with Halogen Light After Placement

LED lights trigger a chemical reaction in Resin that causes it to harden and bond with the tooth. Dentists shine an LED light on the filling for less than one minute before the curing process establishes the color chosen from a shade guide. The final polishing and finishing steps take less than 15 minutes. One appointment visit is sufficient to finish a composite filling process.

You Can Eat and Drink After Getting a Tooth-Colored Filling

For the first 24 hours, avoid eating hard or crunchy food and excessively hot or cold items. After 24 hours, you should be able to resume a regular diet unless your dentist advises otherwise.

Contact Dr. Danielle Akry, DDS., in Century City, CA, at (310) 286-3111 today to learn more about tooth-colored fillings or to schedule another dental appointment.

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Why choose us for dental cleanings

We are always happy to retain existing clients and add new patients to our growing dental family. We provide numerous general dentistry services to help you and your family maintain healthy smiles. One of the most common procedures we offer is professional teeth cleaning. This treatment allows us to eliminate accumulated dental calculus for a healthy mouth. Our office uses cutting-edge equipment to ensure a smooth cleaning process while delivering that clean feeling over each tooth. 

What to expect during a dental cleaning

Chances are that you want to keep your teeth for life. To achieve this milestone, preventative care like dental cleanings is a no-miss. A typical dental cleaning takes 30-60 minutes, but the benefits stay with you for life. 

For starters, the treatment is painless and straightforward. So, if you have been avoiding dental appointments because of dental anxiety, dental cleaning is a well-tolerated procedure. 

After examining your mouth, our dental hygienist uses a dental scaler to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth and along the gum line. Then, we floss and polish your teeth to remove surface stains for a gleaming, white smile. If you are at risk of decay, we’ll recommend dental sealants or fluoride treatment to keep your teeth healthy.

Benefits of professional teeth cleanings

Maintaining optimal dental health isn’t a one-off activity — it’s a lifetime job you cultivate from childhood to adulthood. We emphasize vigilant oral hygiene at home. Still, we recommend our patients see us every six months for dental exams and cleanings. However, patients at risk of cavities and gum disease should schedule more frequent visits. 

Here are some benefits of routine teeth cleanings to keep in mind:

• Prevent gum disease and tooth decay: Dental prophylaxis removes harmful bacteria to maintain healthy teeth and gums
• Early detection of oral issues: During cleanings, your dentist inspects your mouth to detect cavities, gum disease, mouth cancer, and other issues early on, giving you an increased chance of successful treatment
• Fresher breath: Dental cleaning eliminates accumulated plaque and tartar to leave your mouth feeling fresh and clean
• Cost-effective: Preventive dental care, like dental cleanings, saves you from costly restorative treatments
• Preparing you for other treatments: We always recommend dental cleaning before dental procedures like teeth whitening, crowns, and veneers for consistent and successful outcomes
• Better overall health: Your mouth is a gateway to your entire body. Keeping your mouth issue-free protects your body from systematic issues like heart disease, kidney problems, and stroke

At Dr. Danielle Akry, DDS., we are determined to put your smile back on track despite the state of dental health. 

Call (310) 286-3111, and you’ll be one step closer to your healthy, confident smile. We are strategically located in Century City, CA, but we also serve Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, and West Hollywood, CA.

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What to Expect During A Dental Filling Procedure

Fillings are one of the most common and straightforward treatments in dentistry. After Dr. Danielle Akry, DDS establishes that a dental filling can remedy your cavity, we numb your mouth and then drill out the decayed part of your tooth. This process takes a few minutes, but you will feel a bit of pressure while this is happening.

Next, we clean your tooth and then apply the composite resin material to fill the cavity layer by layer. We shape your filling and then use a special light to harden the material. Finally, we make any necessary adjustments to your filling until your bite feels normal.

Benefits of Composite Fillings

Amalgam or silver-colored fillings were popular in the past, but most dentists prefer composite fillings made from glass and plastic particles. The advantages of composite fillings include:

• Conservative: To fill your tooth with composite filling, we only remove a small portion of your tooth. The conservative nature of this treatment ensures long-lasting health and functionality of the treated tooth.
• Natural-looking: White fillings don’t stand out when you smile. The composite resin material is designed to blend with the rest of your teeth.
• Safety: White fillings don’t contain mercury, similar to metal fillings. Furthermore, composite fillings don’t expand or contract as temperatures change.

Want to get rid of cavities in Century City, California? Please dial (310) 286-3111 to book an appointment with Dr. Danielle Akry, DDS. We offer composite fillings that are safe, natural-looking, and durable enough to protect your teeth for many years to come.

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