Fillings - restoring decayed or damaged teeth

Treatments for dental decay

Dental decay can either be repaired with amalgam (silver) or composite (tooth coloured) fillings depending on which tooth is to be treated and the required aesthetic result. One of the key factors governing the choice of restoration is the amount of tooth structure that has been lost. If this is small a filling may be sufficient. If a large amount of tooth structure has been destroyed, then a laboratory produced restoration ie a crown will often be required.

Amalgam Fillings (silver)

This is a good long term filling material and will give many years of satisfactory service. However the appearance is silvery grey in colour and darkens with age. It is therefore used mainly on back teeth with a moderate loss of tooth structure.

Composite Filling (tooth coloured)

White fillings are made from composite resins which are, newer, advanced materials which have two main advantages over amalgam. They can be matched to the tooth colour of the tooth being restored, giving you a more aesthetic finished result. It can also be bonded to the tooth structure making the tooth almost as strong as it was before the decay started.