White Teeth Fillings – The Aesthetic Alternative To Amalgam

If you dislike having your teeth filled due to visible metal fillings, we can help.

Amalgam fillings have been used in dentistry since around the early 1800s, although there is some evidence that it may have been used a very long time before this, in ancient China. There is a good reason for its use, even today, and that is that it is a very strong material for this purpose. Using a combination of metals that includes silver, tin and copper, plus one more that we will look at shortly, it is perhaps unsurprising that it provides a good level of strength.

Despite the strength factor of amalgam fillings, many patients of our Ipswich dental clinic are moving away from this to a more modern filling, sometimes described as ‘white teeth fillings’ which provide a similar level of strength but have advantages over amalgam. Let us take a look at these advantages now.

Aesthetics

This is one of the most obvious advantages as amalgam is a dark coloured filling material that can be, often quite clearly, seen when you smile or yawn. A tooth coloured filling can be created to match the colour of your own natural teeth and will blend in almost invisibly once the cavity has been filled, leaving you with a natural looking smile.

Mercury

One ‘controversial’ aspect of amalgam is that it contains mercury, the metal we omitted earlier. This is a highly toxic ingredient but one which has been passed as safe by the medical authorities for use in its solid form in dental fillings. Despite this, some patients do have concerns and will opt for tooth coloured fillings instead for this reason. There is also a movement away from the use of amalgam as there are concerns about the leakage of amalgam into the environment, including rivers and other water sources.

Better retention of the natural tooth

For amalgam to be used in a filling, the tooth has to be shaped in a certain way to hold it into place. This is because it has poor adhesion to the natural tooth. This usually means that more of the natural tooth has to be removed in order to fill the cavity. Contrast this with the white dental fillings which have very good adhesive properties and this means that, using the latter, we can retain more of the natural tooth where it is healthy.

No shrinkage

Another issue with amalgam is that it tends to shrink a little over a period of time. This can often lead to tiny gaps at the edge of the filling which can allow tiny food particles and harmful bacteria to enter. Almost inevitably, this will lead to further tooth decay and quite possibly a new, and possibly larger,  filling altogether. White fillings, on the other hand, don’t shrink at all meaning that this probably is almost certainly eliminated.

Faster hardening of the filling

Perhaps not the most important advantage, but when you leave a dentist with an amalgam filling, it takes around 24 hours to harden fully. While it can be used for eating as soon as the local anaesthetic wears off, care should be taken not to eat anything too hard or challenging for the new filling. White filings, on the other hand, are fully hardened by the time that you leave the Foxhall Dental Practice. We do still advise though, that you stick to easier to chew foods initially as the tooth may feel a little different and a bit of patience will allow you to get used to the new experience and make eating more comfortable.

Easier repairs

While white fillings are more or less equivalent in strength to traditional fillings, there is a small possibility that small pieces may break off, as can happen with amalgam. Unlike amalgam, where the filling would need to be removed and a new one placed, additions and adjustments can be made more easily to white tooth fillings due to its superior adhesive properties. As you can see then, while amalgam certainly offers a high degree of strength, there are a number of factors which make it a less than ideal dental filling material. With advances having been made with white teeth fillings to increase the strength, it is hardly surprising that an increasing number of our Ipswich patients are asking for them when a cavity needs to be filled.

If you would like to find out more about the aesthetic dental treatments that we offer at the Foxhall Dental Practice, why not contact us to arrange an appointment with one of our cosmetic dentists on 01473 258396.