Tooth-coloured, and shaded to match
Our fillings are tooth-coloured composite, shaded to blend with the teeth around them. Your dentist picks the shade and shapes the filling once they’ve seen the tooth and your bite.
Dental fillings in Mindarie
Tooth-Coloured Fillings in Mindarie
A back tooth has had a rough edge for a fortnight, and now a sip of cold water makes it twinge. Usually that’s a worn filling or a small patch of decay, and a filling is often all it needs. We’ll look at the tooth, show you a photo of it if that helps, and give you the fee before any work starts. Our fillings are tooth-coloured, and we numb the tooth first.
Before we fill it
Is a filling enough for this tooth?
We look at the tooth, your bite and the gum around it before calling it a filling job. The repair has to match the damage, not just how the tooth feels. Where it suits the tooth, we use microdentistry and air abrasion, which take away only the damaged part and leave more healthy tooth behind.
A photo of the tooth
Decay can hide between teeth or under an old filling. A digital X-ray or a photo from our intra-oral camera shows it, and lets you see what your dentist is pointing at.
When a filling would be asking too much
A tooth that’s mostly old filling, or has a crack through it, often needs a crown to hold it together. If the nerve is involved, we’ll check whether it needs root canal treatment first.
What you’ve noticed
What’s the tooth doing?
Rough, sensitive or catching food: each one is a clue, not a diagnosis. When you book, mention when it started, what sets it off and whether there’s an old filling there.
It might be a chip, wear, decay or an old filling that’s lost its shape. We check the edge and how your teeth meet before deciding how to fix it. Some edges only need smoothing.
Filling, crown or neither
Why one tooth gets a filling and the next one doesn’t
It comes down to how much healthy tooth is left, where the damage sits, how the tooth meets the one opposite and what the X-ray shows. That decides between watching it, a filling, a crown, root canal treatment or an urgent visit.
If a spot is only just starting, fluoride, a change at home and another look at your next visit can be enough. We fill a tooth when part of it actually needs rebuilding.
On the day
How a filling is done, start to finish
We start with what the tooth is doing now, and what’s been done to it before. Coming in to have it checked doesn’t commit you to a filling.
Point to the tooth
Show your dentist which one it is, when the rough edge or twinge started, what sets it off, and whether pain or swelling is changing.
A close look
Your dentist checks for decay, chips, cracks, wear and gum changes, and for signs the problem goes deeper. Your health history shapes what they ask.
An X-ray or photo, if it helps
A digital X-ray or intra-oral photo shows damage you can’t see in a mirror. Your dentist explains what it’s for before taking it.
Numb, repair, check the bite
Once you’ve agreed the repair and the fee, we numb the tooth with local anaesthetic, remove the damaged part, then place and shape the filling. You bite down at the end so we can check it doesn’t sit high.
Afterwards
Once you’re home
Wait until the numbness wears off and you can feel your lip and cheek again before you eat, so you don’t bite them by accident. A little sensitivity to cold or biting is common for a few days. Ring us if it lingers, gets worse, or your bite still feels high once the numbness has gone, because the filling can be adjusted.
Brush and clean between your teeth as normal. If the filling catches, chips or falls out, ring us and say what happened. A lost filling needs a look soon, even when it doesn’t hurt much.
Some symptoms shouldn’t wait for a routine visit. A swollen face, fever, a bad taste or strong pain needs dental advice the same day. If breathing, speaking or swallowing becomes hard, or swelling spreads around your eye or neck, call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department.
What it costs
What does a filling cost?
It depends on the tooth, how many surfaces need filling and your health fund policy. Ask for a rough figure when you book; your dentist gives you the exact fee and item number once they’ve seen the tooth.
Book an AppointmentHealth funds
You can claim on your private health fund here. We’re in the Bupa Members First, HCF and nib First Choice preferred-provider networks, and HBF is accepted. What you get back depends on your policy and what’s left of your annual limit. Bring your fund card, and before the filling goes in we’ll check whether your fund’s share can be claimed at that appointment.
Getting in sooner
Book online or call (08) 9407 7888. If there’s swelling, a fever, a lost filling, a broken tooth or pain that’s getting worse, say so and we’ll look for an earlier time.
Find us
1/6 Rothesay Heights, Mindarie WA 6030. Weekdays from 8am, until 6pm Monday to Thursday and 5pm on Friday, plus Saturdays from 8am to 1pm.
If it’s more than a filling
When a filling won’t be the whole story
What your dentist finds decides which of these comes next:
Questions patients ask
Questions about dental fillings
What people ask us most about fillings, from whether that rough edge needs one to what it costs. Toothache, swelling or a filling that’s fallen out? Ring (08) 9407 7888 instead.
No. A rough edge can be a chip, wear, decay, a cracked corner or an old filling changing shape, and some edges only need smoothing. Your dentist checks the edge and the tooth around it, then tells you whether it’s smoothing, a filling, another repair or nothing for now. Book a check if it’s catching, sore or getting bigger.
Sources:
Yes, all of ours are. Your dentist matches the shade to the teeth beside it, and checks that composite suits where the tooth sits, how hard you bite on it and how big the repair is.
It comes down to where the tooth is, how your teeth meet and how big the repair needs to be. A molar that does most of your chewing needs something different from a small spot near the gum. Healthdirect notes that dentists choose the material that suits each tooth. Your dentist will tell you what they’d use, and why, before starting.
Sources:
Not always. An X-ray helps when decay could be hiding between teeth, under an old filling or near the nerve, and a look alone can’t show how deep it goes. Ours are digital. If we suggest one, we’ll say what it should show and whether it changes the plan or the fee.
Sources:
Often, yes. Age or a bit of staining isn’t a reason on its own to replace a filling. It needs attention if it’s chipped, worn, sore, catching food or has new decay around the edge. We check every filling at your check-ups and tell you which ones are fine to leave.
Sources:
A little sensitivity to hot, cold or biting is common after a filling. Wait until the numbness has worn off before eating. Healthdirect suggests seeing your dentist if it hasn’t settled after a few days; ring us sooner if it’s getting worse, is severe, comes with swelling or your bite feels high.
Years, in most cases, though how many depends on the tooth, the size of the filling, your bite, any grinding and how well the area is cleaned. We check each filling at your check-ups. Ring us if one chips, wears, darkens, leaves a gap or starts catching food.
Often, yes. If the spot is very early, your dentist can suggest fluoride, changes to brushing and diet, and another look at your next visit. Whether that’s sensible comes down to where the spot is, how deep it goes and how prone you are to decay. Ask to see it on the X-ray.
Most people feel pressure and vibration rather than pain, because we numb the tooth first. It can be a bit tender for a few days afterwards. If needles or an old visit bother you, mention it when you book. Your dentist will talk you through each step, and you can stop for a break whenever you need one.
Sources:
Digital X-rays and an intra-oral camera to see the tooth properly, and, where they suit the tooth, microdentistry and air abrasion, which remove decay while keeping as much healthy tooth as possible. Ask your dentist what they plan to use on your tooth, and why.
Not just for the sake of it. The Australian Dental Association says an amalgam filling in good condition doesn’t need replacing without a specific reason. Taking a filling out also takes some healthy tooth with it, so ask about the filling’s condition, the risks and the alternatives before changing it for looks.
Sometimes. It depends on how much time is booked, the state of the tooth, whether an X-ray is needed and whether you’re ready to go ahead. If there isn’t time, we’ll book the filling for another day. Mention the tooth when you book, and you’ll hear the findings, the choices and the fee before we start.
Ring us and say when it happened, whether the tooth hurts or feels sharp, and whether there’s swelling or fever. Keep the area clean, chew on the other side and cover a sharp edge with dental wax from the chemist until you’re seen. Strong pain, a swollen face, a bad taste or fever needs dental advice the same day. Trouble breathing, speaking or swallowing, or big swelling near the eye or neck, needs medical help straight away: call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department.
The size and position of the damage, how many surfaces are involved, and the item number claimed. What your fund pays depends on your policy and what’s left of your annual limit. Ask for a likely cost when you book; your dentist confirms the item and fee once they’ve checked the tooth.
