When your tooth shows signs of decay or wear, your dentist can help to stop it before any further damage is caused. Fillings are applied to small and developing cavities to restore your tooth back to its normal shape and prevent any further decay. 

There are a number of different materials that can be used to fill a hole in your tooth: 

Composite resin (lower image): is a white tooth coloured material that patients are increasingly opting for instead of amalgam (silver) or gold fillings. Given their ability to bond to the tooth surface these materials are often less invasive and require less drilling the tooth. They not only restore the tooth to function but also retain its natural appearance so that you can keep the aesthetics of your smile.

Amalgam (upper image): is a silver metal filling material that has been used in dentistry for many years but due to their noticeable dark colour and inability to easily bond to the tooth it is increasingly falling out of favour with patients. 

Fillings

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 FAQs

 

  • No, in certain instances anaesthetic will not even be required, however in cases where it is modern anaesthetics and techniques ensure fillings are now a painless experience.

    After your treatment it is normal to experience some discomfort and occasionally an increased sensitivity to hot/cold but this should pass within a few days.

  • This depends entirely on the size of the filling, some can take as little as 20 minutes whereas others may take 45 minutes.

  • Where composite resin (white) is used as the filling material you are able to eat on it straight away, however we always recommmend waiting until after any anaesthetic has worn off.

    Where amalgam has been used we recommend avoiding eating on the tooth for the remainder of the day to allow the material to set.

  • Yes, amalgam does contain mercury in very small quantities however this has been proven in multiple large scale studies to cause no adverse health effects.

  • Modern white filling materials means that after it has been placed and shaped a white filling should be practically invisble. In the case of amalgam yes, if the tooth is visible in your smile you will likely be able to see the filling.

  • Unfortunately this is a very hard question to answer and depends on many factors such as its size, how many other teeth are around to support it, how well the patient looks after it etc. However if well looked after both white and silver filling can last 12-15 years without any adjustments.