Have you ever looked at a photo of yourself and noticed an unsightly metal filling shining through or held back from laughing in public because you’re conscious about the look of your tooth? With white fillings, you can smile with confidence, safe in the knowledge that nobody will even know that you have a filling.

The benefits of white fillings

White fillings are used to fill cavities and protect decayed teeth and they have a wide range of benefits for patients, especially those who are concerned about the look of their smile. White fillings serve as an increasingly popular alternative to mercury amalgam fillings and they offer a much more aesthetically pleasing finish, as well as being a safer and more environmentally friendly option. With white fillings, the shade of the composite, the material used to fill the tooth matches the tooth shade, so you can’t tell the difference between the filling and the rest of the tooth.

It was sometimes not possible in the past to have white fillings because they weren’t as strong as metal fillings. However, material science has advanced and modern materials are much stronger. Most teeth can now be filled using white fillings and a filling should last up to 10 years.

When you have a filling, the procedure is simple and it’s not painful, as we will numb the tooth beforehand. All the decayed tissue is removed from the cavity first and then the composite is placed inside the hole and shaped to fit the cavity. It is then set firm using a curing light and the filling is then ready after any final adjustments have been completed. Typically, treatment takes less than an hour.