The dentist has a significant selection of filling materials for various purposes. This diversity gives him the opportunity to choose the most appropriate option for a particular patient. According to the principle of action, filling materials are permanent and temporary.
In cases where it is necessary to restore the shape of the tooth, permanent filling materials are used. They must have the following qualities: be resistant to mechanical influences (for example, to chewing actions), to the action of saliva and juices that are secreted by the digestive organs, have plasticity and not change their volume and shape for a long time, not have a harmful effect on soft tissues of the oral cavity, freely penetrate into the cavity to be filled at the site of caries formation, have good adhesion to dental dentin and a color corresponding to the color of a natural tooth. Compomers, composites, cements, amalgam, plastics belong to permanent materials forfillings.
Composites are similar to suspensions in a medium of organic origin, having the viscosity of substances of inorganic composition, which gives it the necessary properties. Composites and filling materials for root canals are divided into hardening materials using a chemical reaction or a special halogen lamp. Composites are a difficult material to work with; experience and special training are required to work with them.
Composite filler is able to have particles of different sizes, which makes it possible to divide it into the appropriate classes:
- macrophiles with coarse filler particles give composites greater strength, but slightly reduce their adhesion to tissue surfaces;
- excellent property of polishability, but limited strength, microfills with filler particles of not very large dimensions are distinguished - they are used to install medium fillings on the teeth in front;
- hybrids are a combination of large-sized barium glass particles and small silicon particles, they are close in their characteristics to hard dental tissues, are often used to install fillings, meet all the requirements for filling materials.
More successful dental filling materials are compomers, combining the qualities of a hybrid composite with glass ionomer cement. They have reliable adhesion to hard dental tissues, excellent biologicalcompatibility with body tissues, have the ability to concentrate fluoride, have improved aesthetic properties such as transparency and color, so they are suitable for filling any tooth.
Amalgam coating - coating with an alloy of mercury with silver or certain other metals, characterized by an increased value of strength and reliability, ductility, resistance to the action of digestive enzymes, it is characterized by bactericidal properties (destroys bacteria).
