Dr James Russell has extensive postgraduate training to ensure that he is at the cutting edge of the techniques required to provide great looking and long lasting White Fillings .
Known in the profession as composites they are a combination of nano-particles of glass embedded in a resin. There are different types of composition for front and back teeth to reflect the priority for strength or aesthetics.
White Fillings can be used to treat teeth with decay or to replace old silver amalgam fillings. Ideally White Fillings are best used for small to medium size cavities - larger cavities would be more suited for porcelain inlays.
Not only do White Fillings look just like natural tooth but they also stick or bond to the tooth which adds strength compared to silver amalgam fillings.
Porcelain inlays are custom made ceramic 'fillings.' Because they are made of ceramic they not only look amazing but are incredibly strong. Porcelain onlays are just the same but cover the biting surfaces too, which can add even more protection to a broken down tooth.
Once a filling becomes large, it can actually weaken a broken down or heavily decayed tooth. Porcelain inlays / onlays actually strengthen the tooth as they bond very firmly to the surrounding tooth.
When a tooth is heavily broken down or decayed it's best to try and save as much as possible of what's left. Crowns often require healthy tooth to be removed whilst porcelain inlays / onlays are much more conservative - this is a huge benefit and recent advances in material science make it a highly predictable long term solution.