Tooth by the Lake
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Composite Fillings

What Materials Are Used in Composite Fillings?

 There are many reasons why composite fillings are popular.  Most people like them because they match the color of the tooth and do not have mercury in them like amalgam fillings do.  Composite fillings are stronger than they used to be and last longer, which are also reasons for their popularity.  Knowing what composite fillings are made of may help you to decide whether this type of restoration is appropriate for you.

While composite fillings ingredients may vary, there are 2 basic types of materials:

Fillers

Fillers in a composite filling consist of tiny particles of a silicon-based material.  In the composites we use the most, silicon dioxide (quartz) is the filler used.  Fillers help to increase the fillings' resistance to wear, hardness, and tensile strength.

Matrix

When talking about composite fillings the word "matrix" refers to the material in which the fillers are suspended.  This is typically a plastic resin known scientifically as bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate and more commonly as Bowen's resin.  The matrix starts out as a fluid and then hardens to the same consistency as natural tooth material when cured with a dental curing light.  In the composite we use the most, the matrix is comprised of Bis-GMA, Triethylene glycol dimethacrylate and Bis-EMA.

Other Additives

Pigments are what give the composite their color.  There are a wide range of pigments available to match the shade of the surrounding teeth.

Stabilizers

Coupling agents

Polymerization initiators

 

Filler makes up the majority of the composite.  For example, in one we commonly use in our clinic, Grandioso by VOCO, the filler content is 89%.  Leaving the remaining 11% to be the matrix and other additives.  The composites we use are BPA and Fluoride free.

Voco does make a composite called Admira Fusion that we offer.  It is unique in that it is the first purely ceramic-based composite.  It uses Pure Silicate Technology meaning the fillers and resin matrix are based purely on silicon oxide.  There are no classic monomers like Bis-GMA, TEGDMA or UDMA.

 

Nanotechnology in Composite Fillings

There are always 2 factors involved in a possible risk from nano-particles.  One factor to consider is the chemical composition, especially if toxic materials are involved.  The other factor is how and whether these particles can be released from the composite.  The nano-scaled filers in composite are imbedded in the plastic-resin matrix and not present as an airborne dust or aerosols.  The nano-particles in the composite are covalently bonded to the resin when cured with the dental light making them a larger size.  So after the light curing of the composite there are no more existing nano-particles, they combine with the resin to become a larger size particle.

 When looking at the 2 risk factors of toxicity and mobility the composites we routinely use in our practice are considered safe.  The nano-particles in the composites we use are comprised of pharmaceutical, pure silicon dioxide (quartz), the main component of nearly all glasses and natural minerals.  Silicon dioxide is non-toxic and used in healing crystals, healing earth or dietary supplements and is found also in drinking glasses and bottles.  The nano-particles are not mobile either since they bond in the light curing of the composite into a larger size particle.