Cavities & Fillings
Tooth-Coloured vs Silver Fillings — Which Is Better?
When you need a filling, your Roorkee dentist will usually offer one of three materials. Each has a clear “best use case” — here’s how to choose.
Composite (tooth-coloured resin)
Cost at Dantam: ₹1,000 – ₹3,500 per tooth Life: 7–10 years on average Best for: Front teeth, small-to-medium cavities, visible spots
Composite is shaded to match your exact tooth colour and bonded directly into the cavity. It lets us keep more of your natural tooth because we don’t need to cut an extra “lock-in” shape. The trade-off: it can stain from coffee/tea over years and is slightly weaker under heavy chewing.
Ceramic / porcelain inlay
Cost at Dantam: ₹6,000 – ₹15,000 per tooth Life: 15–20+ years Best for: Large cavities on back teeth where a filling would be too fragile but a crown would remove too much tooth
Ceramic inlays are custom-made in a lab (or CAD/CAM milled) and cemented into the tooth. They are extremely strong, don’t stain, and feel identical to enamel. The downside: they cost more and take two visits.
Silver amalgam
Cost elsewhere (we no longer place these): ₹500 – ₹1,200 Life: 15–30 years Best for: Very large cavities in back teeth where moisture control is poor (no longer commonly used in India’s private sector)
Amalgam remains the longest-lasting filling material ever invented. However its visible silver-black appearance, the environmental mercury concern, and the need to cut healthy tooth structure to retain it have all made modern tooth-coloured alternatives the default.
Our recommendation
For almost every patient at our Roorkee clinic:
- Front tooth cavity? → Composite
- Small back tooth cavity? → Composite
- Large back tooth cavity (more than 40% of chewing surface)? → Ceramic inlay
- Very large cavity, tooth already weakened? → Crown, not a filling
We’ll walk you through the options, show you photos, and quote exact costs before starting. No surprises, no upselling.