Natural Smiles places BPA-free ceramic composite fillings and metal-free zirconia crowns for patients. Dr. Carlo Litano, DMD practices metal-free dentistry at Natural Smiles in St. Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Litano has more than 20 years in biological practice. Natural Smiles also places zirconia ceramic implants and offers biocompatibility testing for patients with sensitivities.
Materials behind metal-free restorations
The fillings and crowns contain no metal. Natural Smiles uses ceramic and zirconia for restorations placed in the office. These materials follow the practice’s biological standard.
Why metal in the mouth is a concern at the practice
Metal placed in the mouth can corrode over time, the practice says. Corroded metal sheds ions. Dissimilar restorations can set up a galvanic reaction between them. A galvanic reaction means dissimilar metals in a wet environment create small electrical currents between restorations. Ceramic and zirconia are non-conductive materials. A metal-free mouth has none of these electrical currents.
Fillings placed at the practice
Fillings at Natural Smiles use BPA-free ceramic composites, color-matched to a patient’s enamel and bonded with materials the body accepts, with no metal, no mercury and no fluoride. Strength comes back and the filling blends into the tooth. Materials are matched to the patient. Testing is available when sensitivities come up, and fillings follow the same biological standard as other restorations at the practice. Ozone supports the treatment. Kids and adults both receive the same biocompatible fillings.
How a same-day crown is made in the office
The in-office lab scans, designs and mills a zirconia crown in about three hours. Most patients seat a permanent crown on the same day. There is no second appointment, no putty impressions and no temporary crown worn for weeks, since the Primescan digital scanner captures the tooth without any putty trays. The crown design happens right at the dental chair itself.
A Sirona MC X5 mill turns the design into zirconia while the patient waits. No outside lab is used. The finished crown is seated during that same visit. The zirconia crown has no metal margin, so no gray line shows at the gum. The crown shade gets matched to the patient’s natural teeth. Conventional crowns usually mean two visits, putty trays and weeks spent wearing a temporary crown. Most patients skip that process.
Replacing old silver fillings and old crowns
Old silver fillings contain close to fifty percent mercury. Natural Smiles removes them using the SMART mercury removal protocol. The site gets cleaned with medical grade ozone once the amalgam comes out. A BPA-free ceramic composite goes in right after that. Old metal crowns come off under the appropriate protocol. The replacement gets scanned and milled during that same visit in most cases. Implant crowns follow this same in-house path at the practice. They get seated directly on zirconia ceramic implants.
How materials are matched to a patient
Biocompatibility testing is available. This testing is for anyone with sensitivities or past reactions to dental work. Dr. Litano reads the results together with the patient’s health history. Costs follow a staged plan based on how many restorations are needed. The plan also depends on which materials get used and in what sequence. A written estimate comes after the consultation and scan, before any work begins.
What to do next
A consultation and scan start the process for any new patient at Natural Smiles, and that visit leads to a written estimate before any treatment begins.
