Amalgam Fillings
Amalgam is extremely durable, able to withstand the grinding and chewing of your teeth over a long period of time, making it a very effective choice for a filling. Amalgam fillings are made from a combination of metals, including silver, tin, copper and mercury, and are very safe. They are not as aesthetically pleasing as white composite fillings, with many patients choosing to replace their amalgam fillings to make their smile look whiter and healthier.
White Fillings
Known as composite fillings or composite bonding, white fillings are made from a combination of resin and nano particles of glass. The composite sticks to your teeth and reinforces their strength. It can also be matched to the shade of your teeth, making it near-invisible in your mouth and creating an enhanced cosmetic look. White fillings work best for cavities that are small to medium in size.
Porcelain Inlays
Made from porcelain or ceramic, these inlays fit into or onto the tooth. It is the best choice where there is not enough tooth structure to support a white filling but enough tooth to avoid using a crown. Using our state-of-the-art digital technology, we are able to design and fit your porcelain inlay in a single visit to our clinic. Our CEREC and Primescan machines ensure accuracy and provide long-term results.
Gold Fillings
Gold has been used to restore and fill teeth for many years. Often suggested as an alternative to amalgam fillings, gold fillings are far stronger and therefore less likely to fracture. Your gold filling is custom-made, modelled on your teeth to ensure a tight fit between the gold and the adjacent tooth to prevent any gum problems. Gold fillings are also less likely to fail, as decay won’t be able to set in at the margin of filling and tooth.
CEREC Fillings
The CEREC process uses CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Manufacture) software to produce an extremely high quality ceramic filling in a single visit. Ceramic is an ideal material as it supports and stabilises the tooth whilst also having superior aesthetic qualities. It is also very strong and can be bonded to your remaining tooth structure. CEREC fillings are long-lasting, hard-wearing and biocompatible, restoring full function to your tooth.
Composite Bonding
Composite bonding is not a new treatment, but has boomed in recent years thanks to social media. It involves adding white filling material to a tooth to improve the shape, form, colour and appearance. There are many benefits to composite bonding, including closing gaps and aligning teeth without any pain, drilling or downtime. It is also more affordable than conventional veneers or ceramics.
At Tracey Bell, we have provided composite bonding and composite veneers for over 28 years. We understand the risks and benefits of treatment and show many of our completed cases on our social media pages. Composite bonding will need to be repolished approximately six months after placement and is likely to wear and stain over time. Many patients are happy to accept composite bonding as a fast and effective solution for their dental problems.