Fillings

Dental fillings are a way of restoring decayed, damaged, cracked or broken teeth to their normal shape, size and function.

A filling generally involves removing old fillings and/or decay, and shaping & cleaning the affected area. A protective lining is placed over the nerve, and then the filling material is placed in the cavity to restore the tooth. Finally, the filling is shaped and polished as required.

Fillings vary in lots of ways:

• Size – small or large.
• Depth – shallow or deep.
• Tooth – front or back.
• Material – amalgam, composite, glass ionomer, dressing.

All these factors can have a bearing on how long any given filling can be reasonably expected to last, and what the chances of post-op symptoms might be.

Amalgam (Silver/Black)

These tend to be stronger and more resistant to wear. They are more suitable to larger fillings in back teeth where there are greater forces applied.

Composite (White)

These fillings are colour-matched to the tooth and used in areas that are more visible and where aesthetics are more important.

Some benefits include:

• Appearance – they match the colour of your teeth more closely than black (amalgam) fillings.
• Less invasive – they often require less drilling than amalgam fillings.
• Mercury-free – made of a composite resin material.
• Durable –  they are bonded to your teeth, helping to strengthen the overall structure.
• Versatile –  they have many uses, including: filling cavities, repairing chipped/worn teeth, closing spaces between teeth, masking discoloured teeth.

Dressings

These are short/medium term fillings and are placed for several reasons. The most common type of dressing is one with a painkiller in it to try settling a painful deep cavity. If the pain settles then a more definitive filling can be placed. However, this dressing is not a 100% guarantee to work, and sometimes the tooth in question will require a root canal treatment or extraction.