Fillings

After we remove all the tooth decay (caries) from the tooth, a filling is placed to fill up the cavity that has been left.

A variety of materials are available to restore the tooth:

• Composite Resin: commonly known as “white fillings”. Composite resins are tooth- coloured plastic mixtures filled with glass and come in a wide range of tooth shades making them fillings that are not just functional but cosmetic as well. These materials rely on bonding / adhesion thus allowing us to work more conservatively, preserving more of your tooth and even strengthening them too. These material are not as wear resistant as the old amalgam fillings and thus require more maintenance and even replacement.
• Glass Ionomer: is another variety of white filling material that also relies on adhesion/bonding to fill the tooth. Is often used in combination with a composite resin which is placed over the top, since they are not as wear resistant.
• Amalgram: also known as “silver fillings”. Amalgam has been around for over 150 years and is still a strong and reliable material to use. It is a metal alloy made of Silver, Tin, Zinc, some had Copper, and Mercury. Despite the presence of mercury the material has been declared safe to use by the World Health Organisation with no evidence shown to prove otherwise. However, we do have other materials available which are more aesthetic , such as composite resins, but they do wear down more.