Dental Fillings in Dubai

Almost every filling we place is tooth-coloured composite resin. It bonds chemically to enamel and dentine, so the preparation follows the shape of the decay instead of the shape the material needs; it is built up in layers and shaped to the anatomy of the tooth; and it is finished in a shade matched to the neighbouring teeth.

For a large cavity where much of the biting surface is gone, a bonded composite is not always the right answer. A ceramic inlay or onlay, designed digitally and milled in our own dental laboratory, restores the shape and the contact points more predictably on a heavily broken tooth. Where the wall of the tooth is undermined completely, a crown is the honest recommendation rather than a very large filling.

Existing amalgam fillings are not replaced routinely. They are replaced when they fracture, when decay appears at the margin, or when the tooth around them cracks — not because of their colour, unless you ask for the change and the tooth allows it.

The appointment starts with a look at the tooth and, in almost every case, a small intraoral radiograph: decay between teeth and under old fillings is invisible from above, and its depth relative to the nerve decides whether a filling is the right treatment at all.

Then local anaesthetic, and a wait until the tooth is properly numb rather than nearly numb. The decayed tissue is removed under the microscope, the tooth is isolated so that saliva cannot contaminate the bond, and the composite is placed and cured in layers. The last step is the one patients feel for weeks if it is rushed: the bite is checked with marking paper, adjusted, and checked again, then the surface is polished so plaque has nothing to hold on to.

A single small cavity takes 30 to 45 minutes. Several teeth in one visit, or a ceramic inlay, are planned at the examination and quoted before we start.

A filling rebuilds a tooth; it does not treat an inflamed nerve. Three findings change the plan, and we would rather tell you at the examination than halfway through the appointment.

Decay reaching the nerve. If the cavity has reached the pulp, or the tooth has been keeping you awake, the tooth needs root canal treatment before it is restored.

Too little tooth left. When the cavity has taken most of the biting surface or a wall of the tooth, a large filling flexes and eventually splits the remaining structure. An onlay or a crown distributes the load instead of concentrating it.

A tooth that cannot be saved. Decay below the bone level or a vertical root fracture means restoration is not possible, and the conversation moves to extraction and to how the gap will be replaced, usually with an implant.

A filling at ELEMENTAL starts from AED 1,200 for a superficial cavity or a non-carious lesion. A standard filling is AED 1,600, and a tooth rebuilt when more than half of the crown is lost is AED 1,800. A child’s filling is AED 900. A dental consultation is AED 650. The exact figure is confirmed after the examination, because it depends on how much sound tooth structure is left. Prices are current as of August 2026.

Composite is fully set when you leave, so there is no waiting period before eating — only until the numbness wears off, usually two to three hours, because that is when people bite their own lip or cheek without noticing.

Two things to report rather than wait out. A bite that feels high or uneven once the anaesthetic has gone means the filling needs a small adjustment, and leaving it causes soreness in the tooth and the joint. Pain that lingers after cold, gets worse over days, or wakes you at night suggests the nerve is inflamed and needs assessment.

How long a filling lasts is not a fixed number, and any clinic quoting one is guessing. Published averages for composite restorations run from several years to well over a decade, and where a particular filling falls in that range depends on the size of the cavity, the position of the tooth in the bite, grinding, diet and daily cleaning. We check every restoration at each routine visit and intervene when a margin starts to fail rather than when the tooth breaks.

At ELEMENTAL this treatment is carried out by Dr. Artem Shyshko, General Dentist.