Metrowest Dental Treatment Information Center
Click for more information on the dental care that's right for you:
General Dentistry
Silver Fillings
A reliable, time-tested way to restore tooth decay.
The Concern:
- Decay on a portion of a back tooth
The Solution:
A silver (or amalgam) filling is a mixture of approximately 50% silver/tin alloy and 50% mercury. After the tooth is prepared, this gray colored material is placed into the tooth and shaped.
Advantages:
Silver fillings have been used for more than 125 years. Their biggest advantage is that they are reliable and time tested restorations.
Disadvantages:
Silver fillings do not bond (stick) to the tooth structure. This requires the preparation to be “undercut,” creating a chamber that is smaller at the surface of the tooth and wider inside. This undercut keeps the filling from falling out of the tooth.
The problem is that the creation of this undercut requires the removal of more healthy tooth. This weakens the tooth and predisposes it to fracture when biting into hard items. Since fillings will break down from normal wear, they will eventually need to be replaced, and this will require the removal of even more healthy tooth structure.
Though silver fillings contain some mercury, current studies indicate what appears to be no measurable health risks to patients. Silver fillings have been used for decades with no measurable side effects. Adults and children have even been warned to limit the consumption of certain types of fish that carry high levels of environmental mercury. Even if there are no direct risks to patients, the extensive use of mercury in fillings may have a long term environmental impact. We use a mercury scavenger in our office to limit this factor.
Alternatives:
Composite (white) fillings are an esthetic alternative, limiting the removal of healthy tooth structure and posing no known environmental risk. We offer our patients this option and inform them of all pros and cons. Our patients can then choose which type of restoration they want. In cases of extensive decay, inlays/onlays or crowns are a much better alternative to restoring a more moderately compromised tooth.