Tooth fillings
Composite fillings bond to the tooth rather than being wedged into it, which means less healthy tooth has to be removed to hold them in.
Amalgam had to be held in mechanically, which meant cutting undercuts into sound tooth. Composite bonds, so the preparation follows the decay.
Bonded to the walls, composite helps hold the remaining tooth together rather than acting as a wedge inside it.
Shaded to your tooth and polished, so a repaired front tooth does not announce itself.
We place tooth-coloured fillings, and we are glad to replace old amalgam where there is a clinical reason — decay underneath, a crack, a broken margin, or a filling so large the tooth is flexing around it.
We do not recommend removing sound amalgam simply because it is amalgam. Drilling out a filling that is doing its job removes more tooth and shortens its life. Where a patient wants them replaced for their own reasons we will discuss it properly, including a safe removal protocol. See also our holistic approach.
Questions
Years, commonly, but the number depends more on where it is, how large it is, your bite and your grinding than on the material. Very large fillings in back teeth are often better served by an inlay or onlay.
Mild sensitivity to cold for a few days is normal, especially on a deep filling. Sensitivity that gets worse, lingers, or wakes you at night is not — call us.
For a small, shallow filling sometimes not. For anything near the nerve, yes, and it is worth it.
When a tooth needs covering rather than filling.
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Saving a tooth whose nerve has died.
Explore →The appointment that prevents the other eight.
Explore →The mouth read as part of the whole body.
Explore →When a tooth genuinely cannot be kept.
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Nitrous oxide and oral sedation.
Explore →Next step
The first appointment is an examination and a conversation. There is no obligation to book treatment at the end of it.