Coloured Fillings

What is a coloured filling?

Historically, silver amalgam was the material most often used to restore decayed portions of your teeth, especially back teeth. Silver fillings can really darken a smile, and over time amalgam can cause damage to your tooth. Amalgam fillings absorb moisture and expand and contract with heat and cold. As these fillings age these changes can fracture your tooth; we’ll then need to place a porcelain crown on your tooth to save it. Silver fillings can also undergo metal fatigue, which leads to corrosion and leaking over time. This destroys the protective seal of the filling and allows new decay to develop underneath it. This leakage can give a gray appearance to the entire tooth.

At Normanview Dental, we’ve made a commitment to optimal oral health by only providing white fillings in all our restorations. White fillings are made of a tooth-coloured plastic mixture often called composite resin. These fillings are glued or bonded into place, meaning they add strength to the tooth rather than weaken it over time.

Why Get Coloured Fillings?

Dental research has resulted in the development of new tooth-colored materials that are not only durable and long lasting, but attractive as well. These materials provide an attractive, natural look while at the same time restoring strength and durability to your tooth. Composite resins are bonded directly to the tooth, restoring it to near its original strength and function. They can be custom-colored to precisely match your teeth, so when resin fillings are placed, they’re extremely natural looking. This can really make a difference in your appearance, especially if the restoration is visible when you smile.

When we restore your tooth with composite resin, we only need to remove the decayed portion, because the bond anchors the material tightly in place. This means you retain more healthy tooth structure versus the placement of a silver filling in a similar clinical setting. So if you’re looking for an attractive and effective option for restoring one or more decayed teeth, be sure to ask us about the latest choices in white filling materials.