5 Reasons to Replace Your Silver Fillings with Composite Resin

Emily Harrison Metal Free Dentistry

If like most adults you’ve experienced a cavity before, you know how painful it can be. It is likely that you’re also acquainted with the inconveniences of amalgam (or silver) fillings for cavities.

Perhaps you are wary of smiling too widely for fear that the piece of metal in your teeth will show. Or perhaps you’ve started to notice your teeth darken as a result of your filling.

If any of these concerns sound familiar, you may want to consider replacing your silver fillings with composite tooth fillings.

Composite resin is a relatively new kind of tooth filling. Rather than composed of a metal alloy, composite fillings are made up of a soft plastic resin that hardens after a short period of exposure to the blue range of the light spectrum.

There are many benefits to this kind of filling that have made it the most frequently used type today.

Below we will introduce a few reasons why you may want to consider swapping your old silver fillings for composite ones.

1. Aesthetics

Amalgam fillings only come in a metallic gray color that can be very visible when you smile. This is not the case with composite fillings, which come in all sorts of shades and can be adapted to match the color of your teeth.

When you smile, no one will ever be able to tell that you have a composite filling.

Aesthetics

2. They can adapt to smaller cavity shapes

Getting a silver filling can often involve a lot of drilling and removing parts of a healthy tooth to make enough space for the filling. This is because silver fillings are held in place by the shape of the cavity.

On the other hand, composite fillings bind to teeth on a microscopic level and can, therefore, adapt to any cavity shape. This means that very little drilling is involved, and it also means that composite fillings can be used for much more than just cavities.

Small fractures, chipped teeth, and broken teeth can all be fixed with composite resin.

3. No stains

After long periods of time, the silver in amalgam fillings has a tendency to discolor and percolate the tooth. As it permeates the tooth, it can stain it and give it a darker, grayish-black cast. Composite tooth fillings do not discolor, so this is not a problem. Your teeth will remain as radiant as always!

4. They’re less likely to crack and damage your teeth

When the silver fillings in your teeth are repeatedly exposed to overly hot or cold temperatures, they can crack.

They expand and contract with hot and cold temperatures, which can not only damage the fillings themselves, but also your teeth.

Changes in temperature cause significantly more damage with silver fillings than composite fillings, as the latter are more immune to variable temperatures.

5. Health concerns

The mercury found in some silver fillings has caused concerns among some people. A small percentage of patients are sensitive to the mercury in silver fillings and have experienced allergic reactions as a result.

Some people are also concerned that the mercury in the fillings could be noxious to their health over time.

Little evidence has been found for this so far, but peace of mind is an important consideration for many patients, and composite resin raises none of these concerns.

Health concerns

At Scott J Owens Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, we strive to provide high-quality dental tooth fillings in MI. Composite resin fillings can be a good long-term investment for your dental health, and your health is of the utmost concern to us.

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