Cosmetic Dentistry

Dental Fillings

Dental Fillings are a treatment for patients with a decayed or chipped tooth. Dentists will fill a portion of the tooth with materials such as amalgam or composite resin tooth-coloured fillings.
Types of fillings

  

Fillings can be divided into 2 types depending on filling materials:

1. Traditional amalgam filling
2. Composite resin tooth-coloured filling

Our clinic chooses the 3M ESPE Filtek for composite resin tooth-coloured filling since its nanotechnology, which is considered highly effective and powerful in filling, is well accepted.

A comparison between the traditional amalgam and the composite resin tooth-coloured fillings:

Amalgam filling is a metallic silver filling material, which contains tiny amount of mercury.

Advantages

1. Last at least 10-15 years
2. Withstand grinding forces
3. Less expensive than composite filling

Disadvantages

1. Colour does not match natural teeth
2. A large space to hold the amalgam filling is needed, so some healthy parts may have to be taken out
3. Amalgam filling can cause a grayish hue to the nearby teeth’s surface

Composite resin tooth-coloured filling is a natural look tooth-coloured filling material

  

Advantages

1. Colour shade can be matched with the natural teeth
2. Can be used as filling material to restore chipped, broken, or worn teeth

Disadvantages

1. May not last as long as amalgams
2. Longer treatment time due to more complicated process
3. Chipping may occur (depending on positions)