Is the decay still at a very early stage?
Caries infiltration
If the tooth surface is still intact and there's no cavity yet, the decay can be sealed with a special resin, with no drilling at all. If a defect has already formed, a filling is needed.
Services · Preventive Care & Tooth Preservation
Fillings & Inlays
When a tooth has been damaged, we restore it.
Decay, a crack, or an old filling giving way: there are several ways to save a tooth. Which one is right depends on the size and location of the defect. We discuss that together, before anything happens.
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FillingCavity FillingInlay
No pain is no reason to wait
Early-stage decay doesn't hurt. A cavity without pain isn't a sign that everything's fine, it's often the best time to treat it: the smaller the defect, the more healthy tooth structure stays intact. Sometimes there's a different reason: a small accident, a crack, or an old filling that's leaking or has fallen out.
A filling replaces lost tooth structure and restores the tooth's shape, function and stability. Whether a filling is enough or more structure is missing shows in the findings, and we explain it before anything happens.
How it would work for you
- Findings & explanation
We show you what we see, on the X-ray or directly on the tooth, and discuss which restoration makes sense, before anything happens.
- Anaesthetic
A local anaesthetic reliably switches off pain during treatment. It takes a few minutes to take effect.
- Removing the defect
Using a drill or laser, we remove only what's necessary, as gently on tooth structure as possible.
- Restoration
For a filling, the tooth is restored and polished directly. If that's no longer enough, we take a digital scan for the lab. We fit the inlay in a second appointment.
A restored tooth is one less thing to think about:chewing as before, looking as before, as if nothing had happened.
What it costs
How much structure a tooth has lost decides which restoration comes into question, and that also affects the cost. For smaller to medium defects, a filling is usually enough, for larger ones an inlay; whether the tooth is a front or back tooth also plays a role for the material.
Public insurance covers the functionally adequate filling in full: tooth-coloured composite for front teeth, and since 2025 a self-adhesive material for back teeth. If you'd like individual shade matching or the more elaborate composite filling in a back tooth, we agree the extra cost with you in writing beforehand. An inlay is a private, out-of-pocket service, to which public insurance contributes at the level of the standard restoration.
If private cost comes into it, you'll know beforehand: the cost agreement is made in writing before anything begins, and your cost plan shows the whole case, not just individual items.
When something else is a better fit
Every filling, and especially every replacement, costs some healthy tooth structure. It doesn't grow back. So the key question isn't "is a filling enough?", it's "how long will what we're doing actually carry this tooth?". Sometimes the answer is: continue with a different treatment, not another filling.
That can go either way: sometimes a filling isn't even needed yet, sometimes it's no longer enough. Where your tooth actually stands shows in the findings.
Does the restoration no longer reach the nerve?
Root canal treatment
If a defect sits very deep, or the tooth's nerve is already permanently inflamed, a filling alone isn't enough anymore. What root canal treatment covers is under Root Canal Treatment.
Does the tooth no longer hold a restoration at all?
Tooth replacement
If even a partial crown isn't a solution anymore because too little natural tooth remains, you need a restoration that replaces the tooth rather than capping it. The options for that are under Fixed Tooth Replacement.
Every restoration lasts longest in the situation it was designed for. The right choice ultimately protects more tooth structure than the obvious one.
Whether a filling, an inlay or something else is the right path for you, we'll work that out together.
Zahngesundheit verstehen, Entscheidung leben.
Filling, inlay or partial crown?
All three restore the same tooth. The difference lies in how much structure remains and what the restoration needs to achieve. The larger the defect, the more the tooth needs a restoration that doesn't just fill it, but stabilises it.
Filling
Small to medium defects
- Appointments
- One, usually 30–45 minutes
- Material
- Composite or public-insurance material
- Fits when
- the healthy tooth walls still give enough support
Inlay
Medium-sized defects
- Appointments
- Two, about a week apart
- Material
- Glass ceramic, made in our in-house lab
- Fits when
- a filling has reached its limit
Partial crown
Large defects, weakened cusps
- Appointments
- Like an inlay, usually two
- Material
- Glass ceramic, encloses the tooth
- Fits when
- even an inlay no longer holds the tooth securely
If you'd like to know more
Does a filling hurt?
Usually not, the anaesthetic takes away the pain during treatment; if you do feel something, we top it up. What many people remember as unpleasant is the sound of the drill. If you'd like to avoid that, you can ask about the laser alternative.
How long does a filling appointment take?
Usually 30 to 45 minutes: including anaesthetic and a bite check.
How many appointments does an inlay need?
Two: in the first appointment, the tooth is prepared and scanned, then our in-house lab makes the inlay. After about a week, it's fitted in the second appointment. A temporary protects the tooth in between.
My covered front filling looks different from my tooth, did something go wrong?
Usually not. The covered service is a tooth-coloured material in one shade; a natural tooth actually has several: darker near the gumline, more translucent at the edge. That match only comes from building up several colour layers, and that isn't part of the covered service. If you'd like that, we tell you beforehand what it means and what it costs.
Can the decay for an inlay also be removed with the laser?
The decay itself, yes; preparing the tooth for the inlay, no. An inlay has to fit into the cavity from above, and that needs a particular wall shape that can only be created with a rotating instrument. With a filling, this question doesn't arise, because it's placed soft.
Which is better: amalgam or composite?
That question hasn't applied since 2025: amalgam is banned EU-wide, for environmental reasons. Existing amalgam fillings don't need to be removed as long as they're intact.