When a tooth has a hole which is causing pain or the tooth has chipped we can repair this in the short term with a temporary filling.

Some of these temporary fillings have sedative properties to settle the nerve of the tooth whereas others are simply designed to block the hot/cold stimuli from reaching the exposed dentine tubes leading to the nerve.

Temporary fillings can also be used to repair chipped teeth to prevent the soreness of a sharp edge of a tooth which may be grating on your cheek or tongue.

This also helps to stop the tooth from getting worse so that we can keep the tooth stable until you have an appointment to repair the tooth with a longer lasting filling.

Temporary fillings are great for short term repairs, however they do tend to wear a lot faster than normal fillings and will likely need replacement for the long term.

The next stage after a temporary filling is often to have a more permanent solution such as an Amalgam or Composite filling. These types of fillings require precise placement and often take longer to place, so need a separate appointment from the emergency time allotted.