At Herrick, we believe that every patient should be informed as they make choices about their dental care. With this priority in mind, we’d like to offer some insight into a current debate among many dentists: amalgam fillings vs. composite fillings. Here’s why we prefer to use composite fillings when treating our patients:
Composite fillings are less invasive.
Tooth colored composite material bonds directly to your tooth structure, which means only the decayed enamel needs to be removed for the filling to be put in place. With silver fillings, the cavity must be removed and then additional tooth structure altered to help hold the filling into place. In essence, silver amalgam fillings are wedged into placed, requiring healthy tooth structure to be removed around the area of the cavity.
You can put composite fillings in places that you can’t put a silver filling.
Because of the direct bond that composite fillings use to hold themselves into place, they can be used to repair areas that are physically impossible to treat with a silver filling. For instance, composite fillings can be put on the smooth surfaces of your front teeth, or on the biting edges that may have chipped or decayed.
They are available in a variety of shades, ensuring a perfect match.
Repairing your cavity with a composite filling will give you the look of a natural, healthy tooth. Amalgam fillings are dark, can cause amalgam tattoo stains in the enamel around your filling, and are not appropriate for use in the front teeth. With composite filling material, the filling can carefully be matched to your tooth so that it blends in and is almost completely unnoticeable.
We feel that the benefits of composite fillings provide a superior product that helps to repair teeth. The next time you need to have a cavity filled, or are considering replacing your old amalgam fillings, ask about us about our approach to composite fillings!
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