Fillings made to vanish.
A composite filling repairs the cavity, then disappears — mercury-free resin matched to the exact shade of your child's tooth, placed gently in under 30 minutes per tooth.
The repair that becomes part of the tooth.
A composite filling is a tooth-colored resin used to restore a tooth with decay or a small fracture. It does exactly the job a traditional silver filling does — without the metal.
We tint the resin to the precise shade of your child's natural teeth, place it, shape it to their bite, and harden it in place. From that point on, the filling is simply part of the tooth. Silver fillings announce themselves every time a child laughs; a well-placed composite blends in so completely that even you may forget which tooth was repaired.
Why parents choose tooth-colored.
Composite is our standard for nearly every filling — durable, quick, and quiet about its presence.
Invisible by Design
Each filling is matched to the shade of the tooth it repairs, so it blends into the smile instead of standing out from it.
Mercury-Free
Traditional "silver" fillings are a metal alloy that includes mercury. Composite resin sidesteps that question entirely.
Quick & Affordable
Under 30 minutes per tooth, finished in one visit — your child is back to their day before they've had time to worry.
Practiced Hands
We place composite fillings every single day, which is exactly why ours go quickly, comfortably, and well.
The filling comes second. Calm comes first.
Before any work begins, your child hears what will happen in plain, friendly words — nothing here is ever a surprise.
Numbing starts with a gel, so even the numbing doesn't pinch. Laughing gas is available to soften nerves. And for many small cavities, our Solea laser treats the spot with little to no need for a shot at all — a quiet favorite among our most hesitant patients.
Caught early, fixed easily
The smaller the cavity, the smaller and gentler the filling. Twice-a-year checkups let us find decay while it's tiny — often before your child ever feels a thing.
A filling visit, start to finish.
Four unhurried steps — usually complete in under half an hour per tooth.
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Settle in, numb gently
We dry the tooth and dab on numbing gel before anything else, with laughing gas on hand if your child wants it. No rush, no surprises.
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Clear the decay
The decayed portion is removed and the tooth is cleaned, leaving only healthy structure behind.
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Fill and sculpt
The shade-matched resin goes in and is shaped until the bite fits exactly right.
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Cure and polish
A curing light hardens the resin, we polish it smooth, and the tooth is back on duty — looking like nothing ever happened.
When a filling isn't quite enough
A filling restores a tooth as long as enough healthy structure remains. If too much of the tooth is gone, a crown is the sturdier choice — see our dental restorations page, and know that we'll always recommend the gentlest option that truly fits.
Filling questions, answered.
Comfort is built into every step. The tooth is numbed with gel first, then gently and fully; laughing gas keeps nervous kids relaxed; and for many small cavities the Solea laser lets us skip the shot entirely. The whole visit usually takes less than 30 minutes per tooth.
There's no set expiration date — like natural teeth, fillings gradually wear with use. Brushing with a soft or electric toothbrush and not biting inedible things (pencils, we're looking at you) helps them last. On a baby tooth, the filling only needs to outlive the tooth itself. We check every filling at every cleaning.
We use tooth-colored composite for nearly every filling. Traditional silver fillings are a metal alloy containing mercury, and research on amalgam safety has been contradictory from one study to the next. Composite avoids the question altogether — and blends in rather than standing out. Many families also ask us to replace older silver fillings with composite.
A filling works when enough healthy tooth remains; if too much is gone, a crown is the better option. Tooth-colored materials include resin, ceramic, plastic, and glass ionomer — composite resin is the most common and glass ionomer the most fragile. We'll walk you through the right choice for your child's tooth.
Almost immediately. It can take a day or two to get used to chewing on the tooth, and a day of slight sensitivity is normal. After that, treat it like any other tooth: brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, floss daily, and wear a mouth guard for sports if your child plays them.