Dental Fillings

What are the Types of Dental Fillings?

There are various types of dental fillings available. Depending on your needs and preferences, our dental specialists/ dentists will recommend the most appropriate dental fillings for you:

Silver (Amalgam)

• Silver-coloured dental amalgam fillings are made from a mixture of metals that include silver, copper, tin and mercury.
• They are resistant to wear and relatively inexpensive.
• However, these silver-coloured fillings are not natural looking, and may show when you laugh or speak, especially when the filling is near the front of the mouth.

White/Tooth Coloured – Composite

• These are fillings made of a tooth-colored mixture of high strength glass and/or resin, and can be matched to be the same colour as your teeth. From a cosmetic point of view, it provides a more natural appearance.
• However, they are also more prone to become stained from coffee, tea or tobacco, and are not as durable as amalgam fillings.

White/Tooth Coloured – Porcelain (Ceramics)

• Also called full-porcelain restorations, they are particularly desirable because their colour and translucency mimic natural tooth enamel. Due to the nature of the colour, the result is highly aesthetic.
• Ceramics are also more resistant to staining. Porcelain is used for larger fillings.

Gold Fillings

• Gold fillings are regarded as the best. However, they cost more than composite or amalgam fillings.
• In terms of durability, gold fillings have the longest clinical longevity. Many times, they look just as good after many years of use as the day they were done.

Others

• Temporary fillings may be required if your treatment requires more than one appointment, or if your tooth needs time to recover from other treatments (for instance, a root canal).
• Temporary fillings are not meant to last over a long period of time.