our services
Tooth Repair
- Amalgam or Silver Fillings
- Composite or White Fillings
- Crowns
- Porcelain Crowns
- Porcelain Fused Metal Crowns
- Gold Crowns
- Inlays Outlays
- Veneers
Tooth Replacement
Dental Cleaning and Treatment of Gum Diseases
Treatment of Dental Infections
dental services
Tooth Repair: Fillings
Amalgam or Silver Fillings
For over a century, amalgam fillings made from mercury and silver have been used to restore teeth. The metal content of these fillings gives them strength, and they are used mostly on the back teeth, since they can cope with a heavier pressure when biting. Most dental insurance plans routinely cover amalgam fillings, which are still relatively inexpensive.
However, while these types of fillings are still used to repair teeth or replace older, worn fillings, silver amalgams do have some disadvantages when compared to more modern types of fillings. For example, because amalgams never completely bond to your own teeth, fluids and bacteria aren’t completely locked out, so that decay can still occur under the filling over time. Silver fillings also expand with heat and cold and that can eventually fracture the tooth. Amalgams are usually quite large, since they need to be deep and bulky to be able to adequately fill the tooth and as a result, more tooth structure is lost than is the case with other types of fillings. In terms of their appearance, amalgam fillings are also dark in colour and consequently don’t look particularly attractive in the mouth, although these types of fillings still remain the least costly.