A filling is a restorative material that a dentist uses to return function to a decayed or otherwise broken tooth. These fillings come in all different types and colours, from flashy gold fillings to the more traditionally used amalgam fillings (containing silver, zinc, mercury  and copper). Despite having a long life advantage (up to 7 years), these have the great disadvantage of being noticeable.  This is where composite fillings have their advantages.

What are composite fillings?

A composite filling isn’t made up from an amalgam of metals and is rather made up from a mixture of both plastic and glass. They are known as ‘white fillings’ because they are tooth-coloured and blend into your smile perfectly in stark contrast to the fillings we mentioned earlier.

The advantages of white fillings

The main advantage to having white fillings is their chameleon-like ability to camouflage themselves in with the rest of the tooth and remain very much unnoticeable. This is because the dentist can blend shades until the composite resin is nearly identical.

With white fillings only a fraction of the healthy tooth has to be removed before applying the composite, whereas in applying other fillings, a large chunk of healthy tooth often has to be removed for the filling to fit.  Also the bonding can be done so effectively that your teeth are often stronger than they ever were before. You can also use the tooth immediately after the composite has been set, allowing your teeth to function as soon as the procedure has been completed.

Contact our team for more information on white fillings.

Nothing makes you look and feel better than a bright white smile, and we are delighted to provide white fillings to restore decayed teeth with minimal impact to your beautiful smile. Whether you would like to replace existing metal fillings, or you need a new filling, we can help!

About white fillings

White fillings are very popular now because they look much better than amalgam fillings, which can easily be seen when you smile or open your mouth. White fillings are created from dental composite, which contains resins, and is available in a range of white shades. We use the closest shade to your natural tooth colour to ensure that it is impossible to tell the difference between the filling and the rest of the tooth.

Fillings are commonly used to treat cavities (holes that form in the tooth surface). This helps to prevent the spread of infection through the tooth and also strengthens the tooth to protect it from injury in the future.

What are the benefits of white fillings over amalgam fillings?

White fillings have obvious aesthetic benefits, as they don’t affect the look of your smile, but they are also environmentally friendly and safe. Modern materials are more durable than ever and most teeth can now be filled with dental composite.

The procedure

The filling procedure is simple, quick and painless. Before the filling is placed, we will numb the tooth to prevent you from feeling pain and we will then clean the cavity and clear it of decayed tissue. Once bonding material has been placed in the cavity, we will then insert the composite and mould it (at this stage the composite is in putty form) to fill the cavity and then set it to harden it using a curing light. Once the filling is hard, any final adjustments will be made and then you’ll be free to go home.