No, tooth colored fillings are our treatment of choice. Either direct filled composites or indirect inlays and crowns can be provided in almost all situations. However on occasion, if a silver filling is necessary, we use the safest material available.

Generally, yes. Aside from the unappealing appearance of silver fillings, they can cause teeth to fracture over time. As a general rule, if the filling is small it is better to use tooth-colored material called a composite. As fillings get bigger, inlays and onlays are needed. These types of restorations support your teeth through bonding. They also hold up to chewing pressure, don't leak, and look like your real teeth.

There is no real evidence that silver fillings are dangerous. When they wear out, they need to be replaced. When replaced, you can choose what kind of filling you want to have.

Due to important and technological advances such as ceramics and composite (tooth colored) fillings we rarely do silver amalgam fillings.

White fillings are quickly replacing the old silver fillings that are part mercury. Although both kinds of fillings serve the same purpose, white fillings are more cosmetically appealing.

Although the U.S. Public Health Service issued a report in 1993 stating there is no health reason not to use amalgam (silver fillings), more patients today are requesting "white" or tooth-colored composite fillings. We also prefer tooth-colored fillings because they "bond" to the tooth structure and therefore help strengthen a tooth weakened by decay. "White" fillings are usually less sensitive to temperature, and they also look better.

It is definitely more appealing to see white when you smile rather than the silver fillings so many people have. Your silver fillings usually last 5 to 8 years and will eventually need to be replaced. If your primary concern is the color, and if the filling is in good shape, there are other options such as white fillings or porcelain inlays.

Mercury fillings, euphemistically called "silver" or "amalgam" fillings, have been used in dentistry since the Civil War era. They are an amalgam of 50% mercury, mixed with silver, copper, tin and other metals. Mercury fillings were invented as a cheap alternative to gold. Because they are easy to place and inexpensive, mercury fillings have been widely used for 150 years.

The white fillings look like your natural teeth. Most people now prefer these when possible. They are made of a composite material (plastic). Traditional silver fillings have worked very well for many years and still can today. They are made up of a mixture of different metals. On average a white filling will not last as long as a silver one. Recently, many new materials have come forth that have made the longevity of white fillings closer to silver ones.

In some cases, the cavity that needs filling is quite large, but the surrounding tooth is healthy. A composite filling may not be strong enough, but it would seem pointless to remove more of the healthy tooth in order to make a crown. In these cases an inlay may be the answer. The dentist can make an inlay by preparing the cavity in much the same way as they would for a filling. But instead of putting in a filling, the dentist takes an impression of the tooth.

Amalgam fillings, sometimes referred to as ‘silver fillings’, are the most commonly placed filling material according to the American Dental Association (ADA). The material typically contains about 50% mercury Silver and mercury form a stable compound the ADA maintains is safe, as opposed to elemental mercury which is considered a toxic and hazardous material. Several European countries have totally banned the use of this compound for filling teeth.

Although silver-mercury fillings have been the subject of controversy for many years, no scientific evidence to date has shown silver-mercury fillings are unsafe. Our office offers both silver and white fillings to our patients.

Although amalgam fillings have been used for over 150 years and no verifiable adverse health effects have been documented aside form a rare allergic reaction no large scale studies have been done demonstrating either the presence or absence of adverse health effects. Consensus among major dental organizations, based on years of use and lack of verifiable toxic effects of dental amalgam, is that amalgam fillings are certainly safe.

It's time to stop calling it silver amalgam and start calling it what it is-mercury. There is nothing more toxic in a dentist's office than mercury, unless you have some plutonium laying around." -Charles Brown, Counsel for Consumers for Dental Choice. The San Diego Union-Tribune, 12/04/99.

Mercury fillings saved many teeth from extraction and they provided great service to the dental field for a long time. But today's materials are far superior and look like real teeth, allowing dentists to provide true restorations. There are outstanding alternatives to mercury fillings. For small cavities, tooth colored, composite resin fillings are excellent.

Our recommendation is that you never allow another amalgam filling to be placed in your mouth—of course that would never happen in our office. The decision to replace amalgam fillings that are already in your mouth needs to be carefully considered.