White Fillings, Broughty Ferry
Fillings You Would Struggle to Spot
On Brook Street a composite filling starts at £105 for a front tooth and £118 for a back tooth, depending on how many surfaces need rebuilding. Nearly all are done in one sitting of thirty to sixty minutes. 1
Plan members pay £106 rather than £118 for a single-surface back filling. 1 Children and adults are registered and treated on the NHS, with every dentist at the practice, and private care is there if you'd rather.
Reasons You Might Need One
Because composite bonds to enamel, it does far more than fill holes.
Decay Picked Up at a Check-Up
At this stage it rarely hurts. Found early, it needs only a small, inexpensive filling.
A Worn-Out Amalgam Filling
One that has cracked, has a leaking margin, or has new decay working its way in beneath it.
A Broken Corner
We rebuild it in a matching shade. On front teeth this is the same material we use for composite bonding.
A Groove Near the Gum
Scrubbing too hard and acid in the diet wear a notch that twinges with cold drinks. Sealing it over usually settles that.
A Deep Cavity Near the Nerve
First we lay a protective MTA liner over the deepest part (£60), giving the nerve its best chance to calm down.
A Tooth That Is Mostly Filling Already
A composite build-up (£350) binds what remains, either as the final repair or as the core beneath a crown.
What Happens at the Appointment
Nearly every filling is finished in a single visit.
Sizing It Up
Cavities between teeth are invisible from the outside. A small X-ray reveals how far it has gone, and we go through the image and the cost with you first.
Getting You Numb
We apply numbing gel to the gum before the injection. Very shallow fillings can sometimes be done without any anaesthetic.
Removing the Decay
We take away the soft, infected tooth and nothing more. The tooth has to stay dry from here on, since any moisture spoils the bond.
Rebuilding the Tooth
The composite goes in thin layers, each set with a blue curing light, then it's adjusted to your bite and polished smooth.
Will a Filling Do the Job?
Fillings do well while the surrounding tooth is thick and solid. Once most of the tooth has gone, a large filling bends under chewing and can crack what is left.
How Long a Filling Lasts
A composite filling should give you five to ten years, and plenty last far longer. A small one on a surface that does little work usually outlives a large one on a hard-working molar.
What shortens that is night-time grinding, sugary drinks or snacks through the day, and fresh decay creeping in at the margin. Routine examinations catch each of these before the filling gives up.
When a filling is failing you'll usually notice a sharp edge your tongue keeps returning to, food getting trapped between two teeth, or a new twinge with sweet things. Come in then, not once it starts to ache.
Do Silver Fillings Need Replacing?
A sound amalgam filling doesn't get drilled out purely for being grey. Taking it out costs you more tooth, and a healthy one can carry on for decades.
Replacement makes sense once it has fractured, once decay has got in underneath, or if it shows when you laugh and you'd rather it didn't. At your examination we'll say which of yours fall into which category. There's more in our guide on changing metal fillings to white.
If you're an NHS patient, the material depends on the tooth and on what NHS rules allow, so a back tooth may be filled with amalgam. Where you'd prefer a white filling on a back tooth, we can provide it privately.
What a Filling Costs
Every tooth has five surfaces, and the price rises with the number the filling covers. The exact figure is set out in your written plan before treatment begins, and plan members save 10%. Checked October 2026. 1
| Feature | Front teeth | Back teeth |
|---|---|---|
| One surface | £105 | £118 |
| Two surfaces | £130 | £145 |
| Three surfaces | £145 | £165 |
| Four surfaces | £175 | £180 |
| Five surfaces | £240 | £210 |
| Full composite build-up | £350 |
| MTA liner over the nerve | £60 |
| Deep margin elevation, where decay runs under the gum | £105 |
| New patient examination, including X-rays | £70 |
Once the Filling Is Done
Avoiding the Next One
It's the frequency of sugar, not the amount, that does the damage. Save sweet things for mealtimes, brush with a fluoride toothpaste and spit out rather than rinsing.
If you grind or clench, a night guard shields your fillings as much as your teeth. Seeing Pretty Wilson, our hygienist, regularly keeps the margins of your fillings free of plaque.
Common Questions
Costs, the NHS position and what to expect in the chair.
Filling Guides
Changing amalgam fillings to tooth-coloured ones
Crown, onlay or filling: picking the right repair for a tooth
Sensitive teeth: what causes them and when to worry
Toothache when the practice is shut: your options
Have It Looked At
A tooth that's sensitive, sharp or chipped needs an examination and X-ray to tell whether a filling will do or something larger is needed, and the fee is confirmed in writing first.