How effective is light-curing dental restoration?

Tooth light curing, also known as tooth light curing composite resin restoration, is a relatively new technical method for oral restoration treatment. Its advantage is that it is relatively simple to operate, can remove diseased tissue in time, and can also achieve the effect of cleaning teeth. It is the preferred treatment method for tetracycline teeth, fluorosis, etc., which can not only achieve a cosmetic effect, but also contribute to the health of teeth.

How effective is light-curing dental restoration?

It is easy to operate. First, remove all damaged tissues, clean the teeth, and etch them with acidic substances; then rinse and dry, place adhesives and composite resin materials; finally, irradiate the material containing photosensitizer with visible light of a specific wavelength to cause it to undergo a polymerization reaction and solidify, thereby achieving the goal of restoring the shape and function of the teeth.

Before the rise of porcelain teeth technology, light-curing therapy was the preferred technology for dental beauty (such as tetracycline teeth, fluorosis, etc.). The advantages of light-curing therapy are wide application, less wear on teeth, one-time repair, beautiful appearance after repair, stable color, and better wear resistance and compressive strength than general materials (such as glass ionomer, etc.).

Due to the outstanding characteristics of this technology, it can repair caries in various parts of the front and back teeth, and can also repair tooth defects such as wedge-shaped defects. Another is dental beauty, which is often used to repair discolored teeth, deformed teeth, and uneven teeth, and the repair effect is good. Compared with porcelain tooth cosmetic restoration, light-curing tooth cosmetic restoration is still popular among doctors and patients because of its lower cost.

When restoring front teeth with light curing, aesthetics should be considered first. Polishing is very important. Of course, you cannot eat hard food or drink beverages with pigments. This will help keep the teeth from falling off and changing color for a long time. And if they fall off, you can fill them again without damaging many teeth.

What should you pay attention to after having a tooth filled?

1. Be careful not to use a rough toothbrush to brush the surface of the restoration within one week, because the degree of light curing of the resin is only 50%, which can reach 90% within 24 hours and 100% after 7 days. Do not bite hard objects with the restoration, drink less strong tea, smoke less, and avoid rubbing the surface of the restoration with metal stimulation to avoid staining the restoration; if silver-mercury alloy fillings are used, do not chew food with the affected tooth within 24 hours after the filling to avoid the filling falling off or deforming; glass ionomer also takes about 24 hours to completely solidify, so you should eat some soft food first when chewing to gradually adapt.

2. If root canal treatment (tooth nerve extraction) is performed during the tooth filling process, the tooth will lose its pulp nutrition supply from the moment the treatment is completed, just like a big tree having its roots cut off. Although the surface shape remains unchanged temporarily, the strength of the tooth will inevitably decrease over time and it will be easy to break, so you cannot chew hard food. If necessary, please follow the doctor's instructions to have the crown repaired in time to avoid tooth fracture.

3. Similarly, in the case of severe caries resulting in large-area tooth defects, after restoration, the tooth itself is often not strong enough and fractures may occur easily during chewing. Therefore, crown protection should be performed in time according to the doctor's advice.