Springbank Hill Dental places only tooth-coloured composite fillings. We are an amalgam-free practice, so nothing we put in your mouth contains mercury, and nothing we place will show when you laugh.

All three dentists here restore teeth daily, and Dr. Wes Prepchuk has completed thousands of fillings over the past ten years. Most single fillings take 30 to 60 minutes in one appointment.

Composite bonds chemically to the tooth. Amalgam did not, which meant the cavity had to be cut with undercuts and grooves to lock the filling mechanically in place. That removed healthy tooth structure purely to hold the material.

Composite needs none of that, so a composite filling is smaller than the amalgam filling that would have treated the same cavity. It is also colour-matched, so a repair on a visible tooth stays invisible. We do not remove sound existing amalgam fillings just because they are there; if one is intact and sealing well, replacing it costs you tooth structure for no clinical gain. When one fails, we replace it with composite.

Most early cavities have no symptoms at all. That is the reason for six-month checkups: decay is caught on an X-ray while it is still small enough for a simple filling, rather than when it has reached the nerve.

Signs worth booking for:

• Sensitivity to cold, heat, or sweet food that lingers
• A dark brown or black spot on a tooth
• A visible hole, or an edge you can catch with your tongue
• Floss that shreds or catches in the same spot every time
• Food packing between the same two teeth
• Ache when you bite down

Decay generally progresses over months rather than days, so this is not usually an emergency. It is also not something that resolves on its own. Enamel does not regenerate, and a cavity left alone gets larger, more expensive, and eventually reaches the nerve.

• The tooth is frozen. For a small cavity in enamel this is sometimes unnecessary, and we will tell you if it is.
• Decay is removed and the cavity is shaped so the composite has clean, sound edges to bond to.
• The tooth is isolated and kept dry. Composite does not bond reliably to a wet surface, which is why this step matters more than it looks.
• Composite is placed in layers, each hardened with a curing light, and the top layer is sculpted to match the anatomy of the tooth.
• Your bite is checked with coloured paper and adjusted. A filling left even slightly high causes soreness and can fracture.
• The restoration is polished so it is smooth, matches the shade of the tooth, and does not collect plaque at the margin.

Expect the freezing to wear off over two to three hours. Mild sensitivity to cold for a few days afterwards is normal, particularly on deeper fillings. Sensitivity that worsens after a week, or pain that wakes you at night, is not, and you should call us.

Not every cavity is a filling, and we will tell you which one you have before we start rather than partway through.

A tooth that has lost too much structure needs a crown. Filling a badly broken-down tooth sets it up to fracture, and a fractured tooth often cannot be saved. Decay that has reached the nerve needs root canal treatment first, then a crown over the top. Dr. Prepchuk has completed hundreds of root canals and thousands of crowns, so both are handled here.

Most composite fillings last five to ten years, and many last considerably longer. What ends them is usually decay starting again at the margin where the filling meets the tooth, which is why flossing around a filled tooth matters more than flossing anywhere else.

Grinding shortens the life of a filling significantly. If you grind, a nightguard protects your fillings and everything around them.

Cost depends on how many surfaces of the tooth are involved. A single-surface filling is the least expensive restoration in dentistry; a large multi-surface filling costs more and starts approaching the point where a crown is the better investment.

Springbank Hill Dental follows the Alberta Dental Association Fee Guide, so you can compare our fee for any filling against the published provincial rate. Fillings are usually well covered by insurance, often at 80 percent, and we bill your insurer directly.

Book a checkup at Springbank Hill Dental by calling (403) 454-4757 or booking online. We are at 133-7460 Springbank Blvd SW, open from 7:00 am Wednesday through Saturday and until 8:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. New patients are welcome, no referral is needed, and parking is free.