Were you a child of the 70s or 80s? Or even the early 90s?

If you were, chances are that when you visited your dentist for a check-up and needed a filling, you were given an amalgam one. While effective at preserving the tooth, these black/green fillings were far from visually pleasing and could often cause insecurities when many people laughed or smiled.

And, a metal-based filling is not without its own functional issues, too many people would lose these filings as, due to drinking hot tea, the filling would expand, crack the tooth and then shrink as the temperature dropped. And so, they were easy to displace.

Fast-forward to 2021, and many dental surgeries are now phasing out amalgam fillings for more lifestyle-friendly alternatives.

When you come to Benhill Dental Practice, if you require a filling of any size (or even a crown), we will provide you with white fillings Sutton. Made from either a composite material or porcelain, these fillings offer a more aesthetically pleasing variation to amalgam and are also less likely to come loose.

But why else are we opting to use white fillings Sutton over metal ones? Read on to find out!

Aesthetics

OK, so we have already spoken about the cosmetic advantages of white fillings Sutton, but we figured we could talk a bit more!

Our team can perfectly colour match either the composite or the porcelain to the rest of the tooth that the filling is in, making them completely undetectable to the naked eye and therefore far more aesthetically pleasing.

Durability

Don’t let the materials fool you! Yes, metal is usually stronger than porcelain, but in your mouth a porcelain filling is extraordinarily tough and can last for triple the time!

And we aren’t just talking about being able to handle the daily wear and tear of chewing – if you grind your teeth when you sleep, if you have a composite filling or crown, there is no need to worry about it coming loose or cracking.

Bonding

Metal fillings rarely bonded well to teeth, once again putting them at a higher risk of falling out with daily use.

However, as composite is a resin that requires curing with a UV lamp to harden, it bonds better to the tooth. This protects against the tooth falling out and also stops the root or the pulp from becoming accidentally exposed.

Expansion or lack of

A composite or porcelain filling is not able to expand or contract in the way that metal ones do, and so, no damage occurs to the surrounding tooth parts once they are fitted.

This means that there is also a lower chance of the decay spreading due to cracks in the enamel.

Versatile

Of course, you may need a composite or porcelain filling for restorative purposes besides decay. If you have cracked or chipped a tooth playing football or in daily life, we will repair the damage with one of these materials, restoring your tooth to its former glory. What more could you want?