Silver or white? Metal or plastic? Mercury or bonded?
When a dentist offers you a choice to restore or fill your back teeth (either molars or premolars), you, the patient, must decide how to proceed.
Metal amalgam fillings have a proven track record. We see decades old metal fillings every day. They aren’t pretty, but they work. They are inexpensive to place, predictable and strong. Their downside is that they don’t strengthen the adjacent tooth structure. Larger amalgam fillings weaken surrounding tooth structure and predispose a tooth (not the filling, necessarily) to fracturing. They wear, chip and corrode, and decay can start underneath old fillings. I just removed an old amalgam filling my dad placed in the 1970’s. The filling was intact, but the patient had decay under the filling at the gumline.
Plastic, white, bonded, tooth-colored fillings do not have the longevity or predictability of metal restorations. They are more expensive, more difficult to place, and take longer to place. They do strengthen adjacent tooth structure by “bonding”. Very simply, plastic is not as strong as metal.
In our Haverhill office, we place both types. Patients typically choose the more esthetic option, i.e. the white filling. We have had great success with the bonded restorations, as long as the patient continues to maintain them and keep their regularly scheduled cleaning appointments.
Please call us at 978.775.3092 or visit our website, karlarakeliandmd.com for more information.
