Composite (tooth coloured) fillings

If a tooth is decayed or broken, it needs to be repaired. After removing decay, the cavity (hole) is filled with material to recreate the tooth.

Traditionally, silver fillings were used, but this material contains mercury, (a highly toxic material), is unnatural and unsightly in appearance and can corrode and expand, causing fractures in the tooth.

 
Removal of silver filling reveals fractures

We use composite resin. This material recreates the natural appearance of a tooth and is free of mercury. The composite also ‘glues’ the tooth together, strengthening it, unlike silver amalgam which does not bond to the tooth.

Composite can also be used to restore chipped and broken edges, because it bonds to the tooth. A natural tooth is made up of different layers (enamel and dentine) and specialised composite material is applied with different shaded layers to replicate nature.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

What if the cavity is too large for filling?