WHITE COMPOSITE FILLINGS

As a patient, your dentist should inform you of the availability of the white composite fillings. If you have had amalgam fillings placed in your mouth without being offered the option of having white fillings instead, the dentist has not performed his or her legal duty.

Given the opportunity to make a fully informed choice, my experience is that the vast majority of today's dental patients will choose the white fillings. There are several reasons for this: In the view of many, the mercury in amalgam is viewed as potentially toxic. (Traditional dentists like to use the term "silver fillings," but they have more mercury in them than silver.) Also, the feeling is that the white composite represents a more advanced technology. Additionally, composite is more esthetic. For all these reasons, the public is demanding white. And, with today's technology, composite fillings can easily withstand the stress required to serve in a back tooth.

See how beautiful these teeth look after removing the old fillings and replacing them with bonded white fillings. Besides looking better, these teeth are now more resistant to fracture.

ADVANTAGES OF WHITE FILLINGS:

Since they bond to the tooth, composite fillings restore most of the original strength of the tooth. Silver weakens the teeth, making them more susceptible to breaking. Since broken teeth are very expensive to restore, composites can save a lot of expense over the long run.

Composites require less removal of tooth structure. Especially with new cavities, the size of the hole made for the filling can be dramatically smaller with composites. Click here to view photographs showing tooth preparations for white fillings as compared to tooth preparations for amalgam fillings, and see for yourself the differences in the amount of tooth a dentist has to drill away

Teeth restored with white fillings are less sensitive to hot and cold than teeth restored with amalgam, if correct techniques are used.

Composites are mercury-free. Mercury in the fillings is viewed by some as being toxic.

Composite fillings restore the natural appearance of the tooth.

As a patient, your dentist should inform you of the availability of the white composite fillings. If you have had amalgam fillings placed in your mouth without being offered the option of having white fillings instead, the dentist has not performed his or her legal duty.