White fillings and ceramic onlays in Medellín

White dental fillings in Medellín from $90,000 COP per tooth, and ceramic onlays from $2,500,000 COP, for teeth that need more than a filling but less than a crown.

That middle option is the point of this page, and the reason it exists is easier to believe once you know what it costs.

An onlay costs the same as a crown

A ceramic onlay starts at $2,500,000 COP. A crown starts at $2,500,000 COP. The same figure.

We mention it early because it settles the question you would otherwise be left wondering about. Nobody here earns more by recommending one over the other, so when we tell you a tooth does not need a crown, the advice is not costing you anything and it is not making us anything either.

The only difference between them is how much of your own tooth is still there afterwards.

White dental fillings

A white filling — also called a composite filling or a tooth-colored filling — repairs decay, replaces an old filling, and rebuilds a small fracture or a worn edge. The material bonds directly to the tooth and is matched to its colour.

Composite fillings run $90,000 to $450,000 COP per tooth. That is a wide range, and it is worth explaining why rather than leaving you to wonder.

A tooth has several surfaces. Repairing a single small one on a chewing surface is a short appointment and a little material. Rebuilding a corner that spans three surfaces is a different piece of work in time, in material and in difficulty.

So the figure depends on how many surfaces are involved, how large the damage is and where the tooth sits. The simplest cases start at $90,000, and you will be told which one yours is before anything begins.

What a ceramic onlay is

Sometimes a tooth has lost too much structure for a filling to be reliable, but still has enough healthy tooth left that covering all of it would be excessive.

An onlay is made in the laboratory for that tooth and replaces only the damaged part, reinforcing it while the healthy walls stay where they are. A crown, by contrast, means preparing the whole tooth all the way around.

We use lithium disilicate ceramic, known as E-max, when the case calls for it. It is the same material we use for crowns on front teeth, for the same reason: it handles light the way a natural tooth does.

Filling, onlay or crown

It comes down to how much healthy tooth is left and how much support what remains needs.

	When it fits	COP per tooth
White filling	Limited damage	$90,000 – $450,000
Ceramic onlay	A larger portion needs reinforcing, but healthy walls remain	from $2,500,000
Crown	The tooth is extensively damaged, fractured or weakened	from $2,500,000

We do not place a crown simply because a tooth needs restoring. The aim is the most conservative treatment that will actually last, which is not the same as the cheapest and not the same as the largest.

When the tooth genuinely needs full protection, a crown is the right answer and we will say so. More about crowns and bridges.

And if the tooth is sound and what bothers you is its colour or shape rather than damage, none of these is the answer. That is what veneers are for.

How the decision actually gets made

X-rays help, particularly for finding decay between teeth and checking old fillings. But an X-ray cannot always show how much healthy structure is left underneath.

That is decided with the tooth in front of us: a clinical examination together with the X-rays, and sometimes only once the old filling is out and we can see what is behind it.

If you are travelling to Medellín, send us the X-rays and photographs you already have. We will give you a preliminary idea of what is likely, and we will tell you it is preliminary. The real recommendation comes after we look.

What white dental fillings cost

	COP
White dental filling, per tooth	$90,000 – $450,000
Ceramic onlay, per tooth	from $2,500,000

Confirmed after an examination. If more than one tooth is involved, tell us how many and we will give you the figure for that, rather than leaving you to multiply a range.

Prices are in Colombian pesos. We quote in pesos because the exchange rate moves — you can check today’s rate.