Tooth Coloured Fillings

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A more natural approach to fillings 

With tooth coloured fillings, you can achieve a more natural smile and restore strength to your teeth, making chewing easier. 

Silver coloured, amalgam fillings were once recommended as they are hard wearing, but they are unsightly, discolour teeth and require much more invasive preparation. This in turn, can weaken the tooth further. 

Today, we recommend and use more natural tooth coloured fillings as they are metal free, come in a variety of shades to best match your tooth and give a result that is virtually undetectable.

Natural, tooth coloured fillings are best for small to medium cavities, and we can advise on other solutions for larger cavities which may include a crown or veneer.

Tooth coloured fillings are also called composite fillings as they are made from a composite resin.

What does a Composite filling involve?

A person will require a filling if there is decay, if the tooth is chipped/broken or if there is already a filling there that needs to be replaced due to wear and tear.

Your dentist will administer a local anaesthetic to numb the tooth.  There should be no pain involved in getting a filling, though the sensation of the drill is likely to feel very strange.

Once the decay has been removed from the tooth, your dentist will restore the tooth using a composite filling.  This will be polished until it feels smooth and comfortable in your mouth.

What happens after I receive a Composite filling?

After your simple composite filling procedure, your tooth may feel an increased level of sensitivity. This can last for several days. Some patients don’t feel any discomfort after receiving a filling, while some just require some over-the-counter pain relief medication. If for any reason you experience significant pain or sensitivity please be sure to contact the practice so we can ascertain what is going on.  In some cases, especially if there was a lot of decay removed from a tooth or if the filling was very close to the nerve, root canal treatment may be needed.

How do I look after my Composite fillings?

Unfortunately, fillings don’t last forever and will need to be replaced after many years but to increase the longevity of any filling, you must adopt an excellent homecare regime i.e. cut down on sugary snacks and be sure to brush your teeth twice daily and floss every day.