Restorative Dentistry

People usually arrive at restorative dentistry with a specific problem rather than a treatment already in mind. Common signs include:

• Tooth sensitivity or a dull ache when eating something hot, cold, or sweet, which can point to a cavity.
• A visible hole, dark spot, or rough patch on a tooth.
• A sharp edge that can be felt with the tongue after a chip or a small fracture.
• An old filling that feels loose, has a rough margin, or has visibly cracked.
• Food that keeps getting trapped in the same spot between two teeth.
• A tooth that has darkened or looks different in color from the teeth around it.

Any of these is worth checking at a routine dental checkup — restorative problems are generally simpler to treat the earlier they’re caught.

Composite Fillings (Anterior and Posterior)

A tooth-colored resin material used to fill a cavity or repair a chipped or worn tooth after the decay is removed. Composite bonds directly to the remaining tooth structure and is placed and hardened, usually with a curing light, in a single visit. It can be shaded to match the surrounding teeth, which is why it is used on both front and back teeth today, unlike amalgam, which is only suited to back teeth. A well-placed composite filling commonly lasts in the region of 5 to 10 years before it may need attention, though this is a general range, not a fixed timeline — it varies with the size of the filling, its location in the mouth, and oral hygiene.

On a front tooth, composite is chosen mainly for shade and shape matching. On a back tooth, where chewing forces are higher and the filling is less visible, durability and a well-adjusted bite matter more. Over the years, composite can pick up mild staining at its edges from dark drinks such as coffee, tea, or red wine, usually gradually rather than suddenly. When a cavity or an old filling has damaged too much of the tooth for a new filling to be well supported, a crown is generally the next option, since it covers and reinforces the whole tooth — see zirconia crowns and E-max crowns for that alternative.

Amalgam Filling Removal and Replacement

An older silver-colored amalgam filling can be removed and replaced with tooth-colored composite for a more natural appearance, or because the filling has worn, cracked, or come loose after many years of use. This is generally an aesthetic and structural decision rather than a medical necessity — an amalgam filling that is otherwise sound and intact does not need to be replaced for health reasons. Removing an amalgam filling and preparing the tooth for a new material follows the same process as treating a new cavity: the old material is removed, the tooth is cleaned and shaped, and the new filling is placed and cured in the same visit.

What to expect: the area is numbed, the old amalgam is removed, the cavity is cleaned and prepared, and the new composite is placed and cured in layers before the bite is checked. Mild sensitivity to temperature for a short period afterward is common and generally settles on its own.

Cosmetic Composite Bonding

The same tooth-colored resin technique used for fillings can also reshape, lengthen, or repair the visible surface of a tooth for cosmetic reasons — closing a small gap, smoothing a chipped edge, or evening out an uneven tooth — without the more extensive preparation a veneer or crown requires. Composite bonding has its own detailed page, including how it compares with veneers: see composite bonding.

Diastema Closure

Closing a visible gap between two teeth, most often the upper front teeth. Depending on the size and cause of the gap, this can be done with composite bonding added to the sides of the teeth, with veneers, or in some cases with orthodontic treatment to move the teeth together first. The bonding-based approach is generally conservative and can often be completed in a single visit, though case complexity varies.

Fractured Tooth Restoration

The right repair depends on how much of the tooth is broken. A small chip can often be restored directly with composite in a single visit. A larger fracture that reaches the tooth’s inner nerve may first need root canal treatment — see root canal treatment — followed by a filling reinforced with a post, or a crown, to rebuild enough structure to support the restoration.

Fiber Post Placement

A fiber post is a slim reinforcing rod cemented into the root canal space of a tooth that has already had root canal treatment. It helps anchor a filling or core buildup when too much natural tooth structure is missing to hold a restoration on its own. Not every root-canal-treated tooth needs one — only cases where support is otherwise insufficient. The post itself does not strengthen the tooth; its role is to help the filling material stay in place.

Temporary Fillings

A short-term filling material used to seal a tooth between appointments — for example, while a root canal treatment is still in progress, or while deciding on a permanent restoration. Temporary fillings are not designed to last as long as a permanent filling and should be followed up as advised.