Dental fillings

When a patient has a cavity (a "hole" in a tooth) caused by the dental disease, caries, the dentist will remove the decayed portion of the tooth and fill the hole with a dental filling material.  There is a wide variety of filling materials to choose from, but the most common is called composite, which is a white or tooth-colored filling.  Composite material is inserted into the tooth where the decay was removed and prevents further breakdown of the tooth structure or spread of decay.