A typical day in a dental clinic in the 1980s consisted of many dental amalgams or silver fillings being done on countless numbers of patients all across the United States. This dental material, that was at that time over 100 years recent, gave the impression to be the accepted answer to the basic cavity in our teeth. Dentistry is currently offering a tooth-colored filling known as a composite as the answer to the cavity problem. Some dental plans will still only cover the amalgam filling material, but most progressive plans are covering the tooth-colored filling material. A typical progressive dental practice presently uses the amalgam filling material little or not at all now.
• Dental amalgam filling material was not placed with an adhesive. The procedure for placing filling materials today is much different than it was 20 years ago. Dental adhesives, the glue that holds your fillings within the tooth weren't used under the amalgam filling material. Today, out of those that still use the amalgam filling material to fill cavities in teeth, not all of these dentists place the newer adhesives under amalgam. only Instead, a varnish material was used which was supposed to protect the second layer of the tooth structure from the dental amalgam. Today, a very advanced adhesive is used called a bonding agent, to hold in filling material whether it be tooth-colored or a silver filling. Because of the fact that many patients still have silver fillings in their mouths from 15 years ago and more, these fillings do not have the glue holding them in place. Many of these fillings have what dentists call leakage, which is bacteria getting past this material and setting up the decay process under these old silver fillings. This decay method could be a silent problem therefore the patient often does not have any signs of a problem occurring in their tooth or teeth.
• The health of the tooth under old dental amalgam fillings is very hard to determine. Dental amalgams or the silver filling will tarnish, corrode, and break down over time. Making a judgment call as to when to replace these old fillings is not an exact science. It may be too aggressive to just have your old fillings replaced just because they have been in your mouth for years. It is easy for the dentist to justify replacing an old silver filling when it is broken. Many cosmetic dentists replace old silver fillings that don't appear broken or worn out as a result of the patient requests this to improve their look. In doing this many of these silver fillings have decay under them that was impossible to see on the patient's x- rays. The question then becomes, when do you have your silver fillings replaced?
• Composite filling materials are now very successful if placed with the latest technology. Tooth-colored filling material called composite has been used for many years, but it has only recently been a reliable option to fix a tooth in the back of the mouth. The reason for the higher success that this filling material has to offer for the back teeth is due to the advancement in adhesives and materials available to allow for the proper placement. A properly trained dentist can now place tooth-colored filling material in the back teeth with a high success rate and a high rate of long term success of the material.
• The size of the filling is the issue today when choosing the correct material. When getting a filling in a back tooth it is very hard to get long term success with a large filling. Because of this, dental crowns are used to promote strength. Dental inlays and Onlays are also a very good option when large cavities are being repaired. The dental amalgam filling was and still is the best filling material to place in the back teeth for large spaces that need to be filled due to its ease in manipulation. Even though the amalgam is easier to use to correctly fix a large cavity in a back tooth, a dental crown is still the best choice in selecting the answer to the fixing of a back tooth with a large hole.
• The potential risks of the dental amalgam filling material as a result of the amalgam filling material is formed of a combination of metals, it needs something to hold the mixture together to allow for the material to work. Scientists have found nothing other than the element mercury to hold the metal together to make the silver filling work. This mercury element has been reviewed by the FDA and the American Dental Association over and over again and the amalgam filling up to this point is safe in its use on adults and children over the age of 6.