TOOTH COLORED FILLINGS

• What is a Filling, Tooth Colored Fillings
• Composites vs Amalgams and the Mercury Issue
• Inlays and Onlays

WHAT IS A FILLING?

When a patient has decay, the decayed part of the tooth is removed, and a filling is placed in its stead in order to build up the tooth and protect it from getting decay again.

HOW IS IT HELD IN?

Amalgams/Silver fillings do not bond to the teeth, so they are held in MECHANICALLY, meaning that the way the tooth is prepared is such that the filling gets locked into place.

Composites/Tooth Colored Fillings BOND to the teeth, but often times need to be aided by mechanical retention.

CROWNS are cemented into place, but are prepared in ways to help them stay in independent of the cement.

DENTAL C0MPOSITE FILLINGS (TOOTH COLORED FILLINGS): Many people prefer to have composite fillings done because of the fear of mercury and other metals in their mouths. Composites also look much more natural, and do bond to the teeth. The older materials were not too good, but the new materials have much better bond strengths and can last a long time.

DENTAL AMALGAM: Amalgam used to be the first choice of dentists, but due to its properties, it has been shown to increase fractures in teeth and is being phased out by dental composite fillings. Many practices do not even offer it as an option.

Whether or not your present amalgams need to be removed, is up to you and your dentist.

Yes, there is some mercury in the filling material, but whether it is enough to cause health issues is subject to vast debate (which we will not get into here, since most of you are probably already convinced one way or the other).

MERCURY: There is mercury in those amalgam fillings, but the amounts released are about 20 times below the levels associated with any sort of health issue in the most sensitive person.

On the other hand…

There have been issues with the disposal of the material, and the dental profession is constantly looking for safer ways to dispose of it.

INLAYS: Inlays are similar to fillings, except that they are a SOLID unit, done INDIRECTLY in the lab, and are cemented into the tooth,. This is in contrast to a conventional filling, which is placed DIRECTLY into the tooth in increments.

There are two main types, (once again)

GOLD and PORCELAIN.

GOLD: Gold inlays are not done very often these days because of the esthetic concern, but if they are done well, may last indefinitely, and do look spectacular. Because the inlay gold if of HIGH QUALITY, it is SOFT, and often times can be burnished to the tooth to be UNDETECTABLE to the touch!!

PORCELAIN: Porcelain inlays look nicer, but just like in CROWNS , they do tend to fracture more, and are harder than natural tooth. On the other hand, porcelain will not adapt to the tooth nearly as well as gold will.

ONLAYS: These are an extension of inlays except that they cover part of the biting surface of the tooth. Sort of between an inlay and a crown, these are also cemented into the mouth. dental composite fillings, tooth colored fillings dental composite fillings, tooth colored fillings

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