Tooth-coloured composite
Bonded in layers and matched to your tooth shade. Suits front and back teeth with small to medium cavities.
- Visits
- One
- Chair time
- 20 to 45 min
- Kochi band
- ₹500 to ₹2,500 by size
Patient Reviews
0
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Fillings Restorative dentistry, Palarivattom
A small dark spot, food catching between two teeth, or a quick twinge when you eat something sweet are often the first signs of a cavity. Caught at this stage, a dental filling repairs the tooth in one short visit and stops the decay from reaching the nerve.
At 32 Sparkles Dental Clinic in Palarivattom, Kochi, our dentists place tooth-coloured fillings that bond to your tooth and match its shade. The work follows the conservative, tooth-saving approach our founder, Dr Nikita Menon, trained in, with 19 years of clinical experience behind it.
Lost a filling or broke a tooth? We keep same-day slots for urgent problems. Call or WhatsApp before you come in.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nikita Menon, FICOI, 19 years of clinical experience. Last reviewed 3 October 2026
01 Background
Teeth need fillings because decay has made a hole that the tooth cannot repair. Bacteria in plaque turn sugar into acid, and the acid slowly dissolves enamel. Once it breaks through into the softer dentine underneath, the cavity spreads faster and wider than it looks from the surface.
The common spots are the grooves on chewing surfaces, the contacts between back teeth where floss does not reach, and the edges of old fillings. Frequent snacking, sweet tea or coffee through the day, a dry mouth and missed cleaning between teeth all speed it up. Chips and cracks and worn old fillings also leave gaps where decay starts.
Early decay often causes no pain at all. Many cavities between teeth are first seen on an X-ray, before you feel anything.
02 Overview
A dental filling repairs a tooth that has lost a small or moderate amount of structure to decay or a chip. The dentist removes the damaged part and replaces it with a material that seals the tooth and restores its shape. It is enough when the nerve is healthy and most of the tooth is still standing.
Today most fillings are tooth-coloured. Composite resin is bonded to the enamel and dentine, so the dentist can keep more of your natural tooth than older silver fillings needed. Glass ionomer is another tooth-coloured option that releases fluoride, useful for children and near the gum line.
When decay has reached the nerve, a filling alone will not settle the pain and a root canal treatment is needed first. When a large part of the tooth is gone, an onlay or crown protects it better.
Ask for a filling early: a small cavity treated now rarely needs more than one short visit.
03 Candidacy
You likely need a dental filling if a tooth has a visible hole or dark spot, catches food, feels rough, or twinges briefly with sweet or cold food. An X-ray may also show decay between teeth before you notice anything. A filling is not the answer when the nerve is affected or the tooth is cracked or badly broken.
Not sure if that spot is a cavity? We check it on an X-ray and tell you plainly.
04 Options
Bonded in layers and matched to your tooth shade. Suits front and back teeth with small to medium cavities.
Releases fluoride over time. Often used for children's teeth, near the gum line and as a temporary or base layer.
Made outside the mouth from a digital scan and bonded in place. For large back-tooth cavities where a direct filling would be weak.
The size and position of the cavity decide which filling will last longest for you.
05 Procedure
A tooth filling is done in five steps: checking the tooth with an X-ray, numbing it if the cavity is deep, removing the decay, bonding the filling in layers, and shaping and polishing it to your bite. At 32 Sparkles Dental Clinic, we remove only damaged tooth and keep the healthy structure, following biomimetic principles.
We look at the tooth, test it with cold if needed and take a digital X-ray to see how deep the decay goes and whether neighbouring teeth have cavities too.
Small fillings in enamel often need no injection. For deeper cavities, local anaesthetic numbs the tooth so you feel only pressure.
Soft, decayed tooth is removed with fine burs and hand instruments. Healthy tooth is left in place, even if the cavity has an irregular shape, because the filling bonds to it.
The cavity is cleaned and kept dry, a bonding agent is applied, and the composite is placed in thin layers. Each layer is hardened with a blue curing light so the filling sets fully before you leave.
The filling is shaped to match your tooth, checked with bite paper so it does not feel high, then polished smooth so plaque does not stick to it.
Mention any sensitivity you already have before the filling, so the dentist can add a protective liner over the deepest part.
06 Cost
In Palarivattom and across Kochi, a direct tooth filling generally costs ₹500 to ₹2,500 per tooth, depending on its size and material. Inlays and onlays cost more because they are made outside the mouth. These are indicative market ranges collected from Kochi clinics, not a quotation from 32 Sparkles Dental Clinic.
| Glass ionomer filling | Lower end of ₹500 to ₹2,500 |
|---|---|
| Composite, small (one surface) | Within ₹500 to ₹2,500 |
| Composite, large (two or more surfaces) | Upper end of ₹500 to ₹2,500 |
| Inlay or onlay | ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 |
| Root canal treatment | ₹3,000 to ₹12,000 |
|---|---|
| Crown, metal | ₹4,000 to ₹8,000 |
| Crown, zirconia | ₹8,000 to ₹20,000 |
More surfaces involved, decay between teeth, a deep cavity needing a liner, several teeth at once, and choosing an inlay or onlay.
Treating a cavity while it is small, a single surface on the biting side, and regular check-ups that catch decay early.
Your final cost depends on several factors, including the tooth, the size and depth of the cavity, the material and the number of teeth. An evaluation with an X-ray is required before we can give you an estimate.
Fillings are paid at the visit they are placed. If you need several, ask the front desk about spreading them over more than one visit.
Budget by surface, not by tooth: a filling that wraps two or three sides costs more than a small one on top.
You get the diagnosis and the cost for each tooth before we start.
07 Second opinion
Told you need a root canal or a crown when you hoped a filling would do? Send us your X-ray. We will tell you honestly which teeth need what.
Send your X-ray on WhatsApp08 Your visit
A filling appointment at 32 Sparkles usually takes 20 to 45 minutes per tooth. You tell us what you have noticed, the dentist checks the tooth and takes a digital X-ray, and you hear which teeth need work and what it costs before anything starts.
If you have several cavities, we plan them in order of urgency, often two or three teeth on the same side in one visit so you can chew on the other side. You can raise your hand at any point to pause. Most people go straight back to work afterwards.
09 Aftercare
Aftercare after a dental filling is short. Wait until the numbness wears off before eating so you do not bite your cheek, expect some sensitivity to cold for a few days, and brush and clean between teeth as usual. Call us if the bite feels high or the pain gets worse.
Avoid hot drinks and chewing until the numbness wears off. Composite fillings are already hard, so you can eat normally after that.
Mild sensitivity to cold or biting is common. A sensitive toothpaste helps. If the bite feels high, a quick adjustment fixes it.
Sensitivity should have gone. If it lingers, or pain starts on its own, call us so we can check the nerve.
Clean between teeth daily and keep six-monthly check-ups with your general dentist, where edges of fillings are checked for wear and new decay.
10 Honest limits
A filling is not the right choice when the nerve is inflamed, the tooth is cracked, or so much of it is missing that a filling would break under biting. Fillings do last well: a systematic review found yearly failure rates of 1.8% at five years and 2.4% at ten years for back-tooth composite fillings, higher in people who get cavities often.
We recommend something other than a filling when:
We explain the alternatives, including crowns, onlays and extraction where a tooth cannot be saved, and leave the choice with you.
When more than half the tooth is filling, ask whether an onlay or crown would protect it better.
11 Why us
Dr Nikita founded 32 Sparkles Dental Clinic in Palarivattom in 2010 and has 19 years of clinical experience in general, cosmetic and implant dentistry. She holds a Fellowship of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (FICOI) and training in biomimetic dentistry, an approach that bonds restorations to the tooth and keeps as much natural structure as possible.
Read Dr Nikita Menon's profileFillings follow biomimetic principles: remove only damaged tooth and bond the filling to what remains.
Decay between teeth is found early, often before it hurts, so fillings stay small.
If a tooth needs more, our MDS endodontists and prosthodontist work in the same clinic.
Monday to Saturday until 7:30 pm and Sunday until 3 pm, with same-day urgent slots for lost fillings.
Book your check-up every six months so new cavities are caught while they still need only a small filling.
Fillings by a team trained in tooth-saving dentistry, in Palarivattom, seven days a week.
12 Gallery
Our reception, consultation and treatment rooms on MKK Nair Road, and the people who will look after you.
13 Patients
Read and watch patient stories on our testimonials page.
Read our reviews on Google14 Location
Find us on MKK Nair Road, a short ride from Palarivattom junction and the Palarivattom Kochi Metro station. For parking and directions, see our dental clinic in Palarivattom page.
| Monday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
| Thursday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
| Friday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
| Saturday | 9:30 am to 7:30 pm |
| Sunday | 9:30 am to 3:00 pm |
15 Visiting Kochi
Fillings fit easily into a short trip home. Most are finished in a single visit, and several teeth can often be done in one or two appointments. Send us a recent X-ray or photos on WhatsApp with your travel dates, and we will suggest how to schedule the work. Onlays need two visits a few days apart, so tell us early if you may need one.
16 FAQ
Small fillings in enamel are often done without anaesthetic and feel like light vibration. For deeper cavities the dentist numbs the tooth first, so you feel pressure but not pain. Some sensitivity to cold for a few days afterwards is common and settles on its own.
A large systematic review found yearly failure rates of 1.8% at five years and 2.4% at ten years for back-tooth composite fillings, which means most last well beyond ten years. They fail sooner in people who get new cavities often, so brushing, cleaning between teeth and check-ups matter most.
A tooth-coloured composite filling is fully hardened before you leave, so you can eat once any numbness has worn off. If you had a glass ionomer or temporary filling, avoid hard and sticky food on that side for 24 hours.
An early white spot on enamel can sometimes be reversed with fluoride and better cleaning. Once decay has made a hole into the dentine, it cannot heal and keeps growing, so it needs a filling.
Mild sensitivity to cold or biting for a week or two is normal, especially after a deep filling. If it gets worse, lasts beyond two weeks, or the bite feels high, call us. A high spot is fixed in a few minutes.
Only if they are cracked, leaking, have decay underneath, or you want a tooth-coloured look and understand the trade-off. Drilling out a sound old filling removes some healthy tooth, so we check each one on an X-ray before recommending a change.
Yes, when decay is caught early. Milk teeth hold space for adult teeth and an untreated cavity can lead to pain, infection and early tooth loss. Glass ionomer fillings are often used for children because they release fluoride.
Pain that comes with sweet or cold food and stops within seconds usually means a filling will do. Pain that lingers, wakes you at night or comes with swelling suggests the nerve is involved and a root canal may be needed. An X-ray confirms which.
17 Book
Tell us what you have noticed and we will reply on WhatsApp with the next available slot. For a lost filling or a broken tooth, please call.
Sources: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Dental fillings; Evidence-Based Dentistry summary of Opdam et al., Longevity of posterior composite restorations, Journal of Dental Research, 2014.
This page is general information and not a diagnosis or treatment plan. Prices are indicative Kochi market ranges, not a quotation from 32 Sparkles Dental Clinic, and depend on clinical evaluation. Treatment outcomes vary between individuals.
