Dental & Skin Clinic, Royal Tunbridge Wells
White Fillings in Tunbridge Wells — Repair the Damage Without the Metal
Tooth-coloured fillings, matched to the shade of your own teeth, in a practice that doesn't place amalgam at all.
- Mercury-free practice — no amalgam placed
- Shade-matched to your own teeth
- Usually completed in one visit
- Treated by Dr Simon Azimi, GDC 81382
The flash of grey when you laugh
You saw it in a photograph, probably. Head back, mid-laugh, and there it is — a dark square in a back tooth that you'd stopped noticing in the mirror but the camera picked up straight away. You've been careful about how wide you open ever since.
Some of those fillings have been in since you were at school. They've done their job for thirty years. But they've gone dark at the edges, they've made the whole tooth look grey-blue from the outside, and one of them has a hairline crack running away from it that you keep prodding with your tongue.
Or it's not the old ones at all. It's the new problem. Something caught on a crisp. A twinge with cold water. A dark spot you can see between two teeth in a certain light, and the very specific dread that comes with knowing you need a filling and having put off finding out how bad it is.
Either way, this is one of the more straightforward things in dentistry. Usually one appointment. Usually under an hour. And when it's done, you shouldn't be able to see it.
You look, and you can't find it
That's the honest measure of a good composite filling. The colour is matched to the tooth it's in, it's shaped to follow the natural contours, and it's polished to the same sheen as the enamel around it. Patients regularly can't tell us which tooth was treated.
The grey goes. If you've had old amalgams replaced, the whole tooth usually lightens — because a metal filling shows through the enamel as a dark shadow well beyond its actual edges, and that shadow disappears with it.
The tooth feels like a tooth again. Composite bonds to the tooth structure rather than just sitting in a hole, so it supports what's left rather than wedging it apart. The rough edge your tongue kept finding is gone. Cold stops making you flinch.
And you laugh in photographs without doing the calculation first.
Why patients across Tunbridge Wells come to us for tooth-coloured fillings
We are a mercury-free practice.
We use tooth-coloured, mercury-free materials only. No amalgam is placed here.
The shade is matched properly.
Teeth are not one colour. They're lighter at the neck, more translucent at the edge, and they vary from person to person and tooth to tooth. Composite is placed in layers so the finished filling picks up the depth of the tooth around it rather than sitting in it as a flat patch.
Minimally invasive where we can be.
Because composite bonds to the tooth, less healthy tooth has to be removed to hold it in place than an amalgam filling required. Sound tooth structure is worth keeping — you only get it once.
Straight answers about whether a filling is enough.
Sometimes it isn't. If a tooth is so heavily broken down that a filling would be doing a crown's job, you'll be told that before we start, not halfway through. Placing a huge composite in a tooth that needs an onlay or a crown is a false economy and we'd rather say so.
Built for people who don't like the dentist.
A filling is often the first treatment someone has after years away. It's explained before it's done, you can stop at any point, and effective local anaesthetic is used so the tooth is properly numb before anything starts.
Two minutes from the station.
At the entrance to Calverley Park, directly opposite Tunbridge Wells railway station. A single filling appointment fits into a morning without needing to take a day off.
Book your filling appointment
No pressure and no obligation — just a straight conversation about what the tooth needs and what it costs.
What is a white filling?
A white filling is a tooth-coloured repair made from composite resin — a mixture of plastic and fine glass particles — that is bonded directly to the tooth and hardened with a curing light.
It restores the shape and strength of a tooth damaged by decay, wear or a chip, and it's matched to the colour of your natural teeth so it's difficult to see.
The alternative material, dental amalgam, is the silver-grey metal filling most people over thirty grew up with. We don't use it.
How is a white filling placed?
In one appointment, and usually in under an hour for a single tooth.
- The tooth is numbed with local anaesthetic, unless the cavity is very shallow and you'd rather do without.
- The decayed tissue is removed, along with any old filling material that's being replaced.
- The tooth is cleaned and prepared, and a bonding agent is applied so the composite grips the tooth surface.
- The composite is placed in thin layers. Each layer is set with a curing light before the next goes on — this is what gives the filling its strength and its natural depth of colour.
- The filling is shaped to match the anatomy of the tooth, then checked against your bite and adjusted until it feels right when you close.
- It's polished to a smooth, shiny finish, which helps resist staining and early wear.
You can eat as soon as the anaesthetic has worn off. Unlike amalgam, composite is fully set before you leave the chair.
What are inlays and onlays?
For larger cavities, a filling can be made outside the mouth and then bonded in, which is called an indirect restoration.
- A direct filling is the standard approach — the composite is placed and shaped inside the tooth in one visit.
- An inlay or onlay is made by a dental technician to fit the prepared tooth precisely, then bonded in at a second appointment. An inlay sits within the cusps of the tooth; an onlay also covers one or more of the biting cusps.
Indirect restorations are stronger and hold their shape better in large cavities, particularly on back teeth that take heavy chewing loads. They cost more and take an extra visit. Which one suits your tooth depends on how much sound tooth is left, and you'll be shown the reasoning rather than just given a price.
Can I have my old metal fillings replaced with white ones?
Yes. The old amalgam is removed, any decay underneath it is cleared, and the tooth is rebuilt in composite matched to your natural shade. Teeth that have carried a metal filling for decades usually look dramatically different afterwards, because the grey shadow through the enamel goes with it.
Two honest points before you decide.
First, this is a cosmetic decision, and that's a perfectly good reason to do it. We don't remove sound, well-sealed amalgam fillings on health grounds, because the evidence doesn't support doing that. If you want yours changed because you don't like looking at them, that is a legitimate reason and nobody here will pretend otherwise.
Second, replacing a filling always removes a little more tooth. Drilling out an old restoration takes some healthy tooth with it, and it can leave a tooth temporarily sensitive. A filling that is doing its job with no decay underneath is not urgent to change. One that is leaking, cracked, or has decay around it should be replaced regardless of colour.
Are white fillings safe? What does mercury-free mean?
Composite fillings contain no mercury. Dental amalgam is roughly half mercury by weight, bound into an alloy with silver, tin and copper.
We are a mercury-free practice — we place tooth-coloured materials only. That is stated here as a fact about how we work, not as a claim about anyone else's practice or about amalgam being unsafe. UK regulations have restricted the use of amalgam in children under 15 and in pregnant or breastfeeding patients since 2018, and its use across dentistry has been declining for years for environmental as well as clinical reasons.
How long do white fillings last?
A well-placed composite filling in a small to medium cavity typically lasts around five to ten years, and often considerably longer. Larger fillings in back teeth take more force and tend not to last as long as smaller ones.
What shortens their life: grinding or clenching, very large cavities, decay starting again at the edges, and biting hard on things teeth weren't designed for. What extends it: cleaning between your teeth daily, keeping your check-ups so wear is spotted early, and treating a grinding habit if you have one.
No filling is permanent. Every filling is eventually replaced, which is another reason to keep the cavity — and therefore the filling — as small as possible by coming in early.
Does having a filling hurt?
The tooth is numbed with local anaesthetic first, so you shouldn't feel pain while the work is done. Most people feel pressure, vibration and cold water, and nothing more than that.
Afterwards, it's common for the tooth to be sensitive to cold or to biting for a few days or occasionally a couple of weeks, particularly if the cavity was deep and close to the nerve. That usually settles on its own. If it doesn't, or if the tooth is sore to bite on, ring us — the bite may need a small adjustment, which takes minutes.
Where decay has reached the nerve, a filling may not be enough on its own, and root canal treatment may be needed to settle the tooth. You'd be told if that's a realistic possibility before treatment starts.
What are the drawbacks of composite fillings?
Stated plainly, because you should hear both sides:
- They can stain over time. Tea, coffee, red wine and tobacco discolour composite more readily than they discolour enamel, particularly at the margins.
- They can be sensitive at first. A newly placed composite may be tender to cold for a short period.
- They're technique-sensitive to place. The tooth has to be kept dry while the composite is bonded, which is why placement takes longer than a metal filling did.
- In very large cavities, they may not be the best choice. An onlay or a crown can be the more durable answer where a lot of tooth has gone.
- They don't whiten. If you later have your teeth whitened, existing white fillings stay the shade they were made, and may need replacing to match.
Step by step
What happens when you come in for a filling
The examination
The tooth is examined and usually X-rayed, to see how deep the decay goes and whether the nerve is involved. You'll be told what's found before anything is decided.
The plan and the price
What the tooth needs — a filling, an onlay, or something more — with the cost, in writing. If more than one tooth needs treating, they're put in order of urgency.
Numbing up
Local anaesthetic, given slowly. A numbing gel can be used first if you don't like injections. We wait until you tell us the tooth is properly numb, not until the clock says it should be.
Bite check and polish
Shaped, checked against how your teeth meet, adjusted, and polished smooth.
Afterwards
Eat once the numbness has gone — a couple of hours, typically — and be careful not to bite your lip or cheek while it's still numb. Expect possible cold sensitivity for a few days. Ring us if the bite feels high or the tooth is sore to bite on.
Fees
How much do white fillings cost in Tunbridge Wells?
The price of a filling depends on how many surfaces of the tooth are involved — a small cavity on one surface takes far less time and material than a large one wrapping around a cusp. You'll be given the actual figure for your tooth before treatment begins, not a range.
Prefer to talk? Call 01892 547286
White fillings vs amalgam fillings
| White (composite) filling | Amalgam (metal) filling | |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Matched to your tooth shade | Silver-grey, darkens with age |
| Contains mercury | No | Yes — roughly half mercury by weight |
| Bonds to the tooth | Yes — bonds and supports the remaining tooth | No — held in place mechanically by the shape of the cavity |
| Healthy tooth removed to place it | Less | More, to create a shape that grips |
| Typical lifespan | Around 5–10 years, often longer | Often longer in large back-tooth cavities |
| Sets immediately | Yes — eat once the numbness wears off | No — full strength takes around 24 hours |
| Staining | Can stain at the margins over years | Does not stain, but discolours the tooth around it |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Placed at iSmile | Yes | No — we are a mercury-free practice |
Should I replace my amalgam fillings?
If they're intact, sealed and free of decay, there's no clinical need to. Replacing a sound filling removes a little more healthy tooth and can leave it sensitive for a while, so it isn't a decision to take lightly.
If you don't like the look of them, that's a valid reason and it's why most people do it. And if a filling is cracked, leaking, worn or has decay around the edge, it needs replacing regardless of what it's made of — in which case it's replaced with composite here.
Filling, onlay or crown — how do I know which I need?
It comes down to how much sound tooth is left.
| Filling | Inlay / onlay | Crown | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small to medium cavities | Larger cavities with the walls of the tooth intact | Heavily broken-down or root-treated teeth |
| Tooth covered | Part of one surface | Part of the biting surface, sometimes a cusp | The whole tooth |
| Visits | One | Two | Two |
| Strength | Good in smaller cavities | Stronger in larger ones | Strongest — rebuilds the whole tooth |
A tooth that keeps needing bigger and bigger fillings eventually reaches the point where a filling is no longer the right answer. Getting that judgement right is most of the skill.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How long do white fillings last?
Typically around five to ten years, and frequently longer, depending on the size of the filling, where it sits, and how you use your teeth. Small fillings in front teeth generally outlast large ones in molars. Every filling is eventually replaced.
Do white fillings hurt?
The tooth is numbed with local anaesthetic first, so you shouldn't feel pain during treatment — most people feel pressure and cold water only. Some sensitivity to cold or to biting for a few days afterwards is normal, particularly with deeper fillings.
Can I have my amalgam fillings replaced with white ones?
Yes. The old filling is removed, any decay underneath is cleared, and the tooth is rebuilt in tooth-coloured composite. It's usually a cosmetic choice rather than a clinical necessity, and it's a perfectly reasonable one.
Will my white filling stain?
It can, over years — tea, coffee, red wine and tobacco are the usual culprits, and staining tends to show at the edges first. Polishing at a hygiene appointment helps, and a stained filling can be replaced.
Can white fillings be whitened?
No. Whitening gel works on natural tooth structure and doesn't lighten composite. If you plan to whiten your teeth, it's usually best to whiten first and then match any visible fillings to the new shade afterwards.
Do you use white fillings on back teeth?
Yes. Modern composites are made to withstand chewing forces on back teeth. Where a cavity is very large, an onlay or a crown may be a more durable choice, and you'll be told if that's the case.
Can I eat straight after a white filling?
Once the numbness has worn off, yes. Composite is fully hardened before you leave, so there's no waiting for it to set. Take care not to bite your lip or cheek while your mouth is still numb.
My filling feels high when I bite. Is that normal?
For the first day it can feel slightly unfamiliar, but a filling that genuinely feels high should be adjusted. It takes a couple of minutes and it prevents a sore tooth. Ring us on 01892 547286 rather than putting up with it.
What if the decay is too deep for a filling?
If decay has reached the nerve, the tooth may need root canal treatment to settle it, and often a crown afterwards to protect it. You'd be warned before treatment that this is a possibility, and you'd be shown the X-ray it's based on.
Getting here
White fillings for patients across Tunbridge Wells and West Kent
Most fillings are done and dusted in a single appointment, which makes them straightforward to fit around a working day. We're opposite Tunbridge Wells railway station at the entrance to Calverley Park.
Patients drive in from Speldhurst, Langton Green and Bidborough in well under fifteen minutes, and from Southborough and Pembury almost as quickly. If you're coming from Tonbridge, the train drops you within a couple of minutes' walk of the door.
One visit, one tooth put right, and you're back out.
Get the tooth sorted — and the grey gone
Whether it's new decay or a set of old metal fillings you've stopped liking the look of, the first step is the same: a look, an X-ray if it's needed, and a straight answer on what the tooth requires.
Or call us on 01892 547286 — happy to talk it through first.
Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:15pm · Sat 10am–4:30pm1 The Lodge, Mount Pleasant Avenue, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1QY
Reviewed by Dr Simon Azimi, GDC 81382