Your dentist has several options available to them if you would like to improve the appearance of filled teeth. At Harley Street Dental Clinic our skilled team of cosmetic dentists have helped scores of people to find renewed confidence in their smiles with replacements for metal fillings.
Once, if you needed a filling, the only option was to have a metal amalgam one. Whilst these are both strong and durable, they are also very obvious in the mouth, particularly if they are located near the front. Obvious silver or grey metal amalgam fillings can make you self-conscious about smiling and can dent your self-esteem. Fortunately, at our Harley Street clinic, we are able to replace metal amalgam fillings with more aesthetically pleasing white ones.
White fillings have been around for many years, but were for a long time considered less strong and durable than their metal amalgam counterparts. Thanks to improvements in materials and techniques this has changed, and white fillings are now thought of as almost as strong as metal fillings, and are suitable for use anywhere in the mouth.
Whilst they are described as “white” fillings, they can more accurately be called “tooth-coloured” fillings, because your dentist will carefully select a shade of composite filling material that closely matches the natural colour of your teeth, meaning they will blend in seamlessly and you will be smiling again in no time.
If you come to Harley Street Dental Clinic to have your metal amalgam fillings replaced with white ones, this can usually be completed in a single appointment. Your dentist will remove your old metal filling, along with any additional areas of decay that have developed around it, before shaping the cavity and placing the filling.
For larger cavities, your dentist may opt for a tooth-coloured inlay or onlay (a half-step between a filling and a crown) or a crown if extra strength is needed.