How long do dental fillings last?
Several years on average, though it varies with the material, where the tooth sits, how heavily you chew and how well you clean. The important part is that fillings are not permanent by design — they wear, chip and can leak at the margins, letting decay start again underneath, which is why they are checked at routine appointments and replaced when they fail.
The honest range
Several years on average. Nobody can give you a date for an individual filling, and the variation between two people with the same material is large.
What decides it
- Material. Composite, glass ionomer and amalgam wear differently.
- Where the tooth sits. A filling on a back molar takes the full force of chewing; one on a front tooth does not.
- How heavily you chew, including grinding, which shortens the life of any restoration.
- How well you clean. Decay starting at the margin of a filling is a common reason for replacement, and that is a cleaning question.
How fillings actually fail
Not usually by falling out. They wear down, chip at an edge, or leak where the filling meets the tooth — and that margin is where decay quietly restarts underneath, often without symptoms until it is well established.
This is precisely why fillings are checked at routine appointments rather than assumed to be permanent. The appointment is looking for the failure before it becomes a bigger repair.
Old silver fillings do not need replacing on principle
A sound amalgam filling that is sealing well does not need replacing. Replacement is indicated when it fractures, leaks or has decay beneath it, or where you specifically want a tooth-coloured repair for appearance.
Age alone is not a reason. Replacing a working filling removes more tooth structure every time, and there is a limit to how many times that can be done before a larger restoration is needed.
Two things worth reporting early
A filling that feels high. If the tooth feels like it hits first when you bite, go back and have it adjusted. Leaving it causes ongoing soreness and can crack the filling — the correction takes a couple of minutes.
Sensitivity that does not settle. Sensitivity to hot and cold for a few days after placement is common, particularly with a deep filling, and normally settles on its own. Pain that persists or worsens is different, and may mean the tooth needs root canal treatment.
What extends the life
Cleaning around the margins, mentioning grinding if you do it, and keeping the routine appointments that catch a leaking edge while it is still a small repair.
Full detail on the dental fillings page; see also how long a dental crown lasts. Consultation ₹500, waived against treatment.
Tooth-coloured dental fillings at The Aesthetic Edge, Bangalore. Decay removed and the tooth rebuilt in a single visit, shade-matched to your own teeth.
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