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Fillings 

WHITE FILLINGS LOOK NATURAL AND CLOSELY MATCH TO THE COLOR OF THE PRESENT TEETH. MOST DENTAL PLANS COVER WHITE FILLINGS.

A filling is used to repair a tooth that has a cavity or chipped. It can also close spaces between teeth. After removing the decayed part, the cavity will be filled with a filling material.

Composite Fillings ( White Fillings) and Silver Filling (Amalgam Fillings) are two  of the materials that are usually used to fill cavities.

There are also other types of restorations to fill cavities like lab made inlays and onlays.  Inlay and onlays are bonded or cemented to the teeth and last longer than direct fillings. Inlays and Onlays are made of Porcelain or Gold. Your dentist may discuss which option is more recommended to restore your tooth.

Composite Filling

White Filling

Composite fillings are also called white fillings. These fillings will be the same colour as your natural teeth.  They are direct fillings, and are done in one appointment.

Advantages:

  • The tooth will be prepped more conservatively because the filling bonds to the tooth structure.

  • Composite fillings are boned to the remaining tooth structure and hold the remaining structure together.

  • If another part of the tooth decays or breaks it is usually possible to fix that part with another composite filling without need to replace the previous filling.

Amalgam Filling

Silver Filling

Amalgam fillings are also called “silver” fillings. These fillings are silver in colour and are usually used to fill the back teeth. They are a mix of metals such as silver, copper and tin and mercury. They   are direct fillings and one visit to your dentist will do the job.  The silver colour may not appeal to some people who want a natural look. A small amount of mercury is used to bind the metals together in this type of filling, however, for most people this bit of mercury is nothing to worry about. They have been used for more than 150 years. The teeth need to be prepped more for mechanical retention and the chance of tooth breaking or chipping in future is more with this kind of filling.