Oral treatments

Why do we need filling?

  • To stop pain caused by decayed tooth, and to prevent tooth decay from getting worse

    Photograph of a boy holding his swollen cheek. He looks painful.

  • To restore the shape and functions of the tooth, such as chewing, articulating, appearance, etc

    Photograph of a good looking girl with whitish teeth.

  • To prevent early loss of deciduous teeth due to tooth decay. This subsequently prevents the migration of neighbouring teeth into its place resulting in malalignment of permanent teeth

    Animation showing early shedding of deciduous teeth resulting in poor alignment of their permanent successors.

Overview of the filling procedures

  • Remove the decayed tooth structure

    Photograph showing the use of dental instruments to remove the decayed portion of a tooth.

  • Place the filling material into the cavity

    Photograph of a dental cavity being filled up with filling material.

  • Trim off and polish the filling material

    Photograph of the appearance of the filling materials after trimming and polishing.

What do you know about filling materials?

  • Amalgam

    • Colour: Greyish-silver

      Photograph of the appearance of a decayed tooth before and after an amalgam is placed.

    • Filling procedure

      Animation showing the use of dental instruments to remove the decayed portion of a tooth and fill with amalgam.

  • Composite resin

    • Colour: similar to natural tooth colour

      Photograph of the appearance of a decayed tooth before and after filling with composite.

    • Filling procedure

      Animation showing the use of dental instruments to remove the decayed portion the two upper incisors and filling with composite.

  • Glass Ionomer Cement

    • Colour: similar to natural tooth colour

      Photograph of the appearance of a decayed deciduous tooth after filling with glass ionomer cement.

    • Filling procedure

      Animation showing the use of dental instruments to remove the decayed portion of a tooth and fill with glass ionomer cement.

  • Compomer

    • Colour: similar to natural tooth colour

      Photograph showing the appearance of a deciduous tooth after the decayed portion is filled with glass ionomer cement.

    • Filling procedure

      Animation showing the use of dental instruments to remove the decayed portion of the tooth and fill with compomer.

  • Stainless steel crown

    • Stainless steel crown is silver in colour. It has different sizes, and it is often used on deciduous molars.

      Photograph of a deciduous molar with stainless steel crown.

    • Filling procedure

      Animation showing the process of producing a stainless steel crown.

Feeling uncomfortable after filling?

It takes a few days to adapt to the new filling. If the situation does not improve, or even getting worse, you need to see the dentist.