If a tooth is affected by caries, it must be removed. This mechanical treatment creates a cavity in the tooth. In order to ensure the continued function of the tooth, these cavities are filled with various filling materials. Even today, amalgam is the classic filling material, but there are also more modern and aesthetically more sophisticated materials for the defects in the tooth. These are fillings made of tooth-colored plastic material - so-called composites. These are just as resilient and are bonded to the tooth by adhesive technique. The advantage of this type of bonding and material is that it stabilizes the tooth substance and eliminates the need for undercuts that require tooth substance, as is necessary for anchoring amalgam. As this technique is more complex and the materials more expensive than amalgam, an additional private co-payment is required.
