Paediatric Fillings

Fillings are placed to restore teeth to function and appearance after trauma, caries removal or tooth wear. Fillings can be separated into two categories – silver coloured or tooth coloured. We no longer place silver coloured fillings at our clinic.

The Benefits

Fillings are most often carried out as part of the restorative process for caries treatment. They are intended to bring your child’s tooth to function, look good, and prevent the decayed lesion from growing.

Tooth decay is the most common reason for fillings in children, followed by damage from trauma. The nerves in children’s teeth are not as developed as in adult teeth, therefore they may not always complain of pain when their tooth has a hole. This makes the regular dental check-up even more important, as we often able catch problems before they have been able to cause your child any pain.

Tooth-coloured material science is improving all the time, our composite filling materials have the same if not better strength than the old silver coloured fillings, and have the advantage of bonding to and supporting the existing tooth structure.

The Process

Our professional team of dentists will discuss all the pros, cons and costs of your child’s treatment needs. If fillings are required, they will usually be under local anaesthetic. In a child, this is sometimes accomplished with the surface numbing gel. In other cases if the decay found is too extensive then the local anaesthetic injection will also be needed. If injection is needed, we prepare the area first with the surface numbing gel, and then use paediatric dental techniques developed through training and experience to make the injection as anxiety free as possible.

If you have any concerns regarding analgesia, please do let us know so that we can make the experience as anxiety free as possible.

Our dentist will then prepare the tooth for the filling. This means removing any decay or debris with dental drills and hand instruments. Although you won’t feel any pain, but they may be aware of vibration from the drills. This can be alarming when first experienced. Therefore in some cases, when the child is very young, we choose to avoid dental drills and carry out the caries removal carefully and painstakingly with hand instruments only.

Tooth coloured fillings take a few stages and require a clean and dry tooth. The dentist will apply an etching gel, which is washed off after a waiting period, then a bond layer is applied and ‘set’ with the light-curing machine. Lastly the filling is placed in layers, and set along the way. It is then polished and the bite is checked. It is ready to use right away, however it is always advisable to wait until the numbing wears off before allowing and eating or drinking.

The Cost

The cost of this treatment will depend on many factors like complexity and size. The fee range for a tooth coloured filling is $74.90 – $128.40. We always encourage you to meet with our dentist for a consultation, and discussion of your particular needs and treatment costs.