Dental fillings are placed on teeth to replace natural tooth structure that has been damaged as a result of dental decay or fracture. There are three main types of dental fillings: composite resin, amalgam and glass-ionomer cement (GIC). Composite resin is the most common and is tooth coloured. Less drilling is generally needed for the placement of a composite resin filling as the material bonds to the surrounding tooth. The colour of the filling can be matched very precisely to the colour of your tooth making it very difficult for someone looking at your teeth to be able to tell if you have a filling.

Glass-ionomer cement (GIC) is also a white or tooth coloured filling material that is sometimes used. It is not as strong as composite resin but contains fluoride which helps repair the tooth structure underneath.
Amalgam is used less frequently these days compared to in the past. It is silver in colour and so can be easily seen by someone looking at your teeth. It has very good strength and longevity and so is still the material of choicein certain cases.