Posts Tagged ‘Mercury Amalgam Fillings’

For over 100 years, dentists have been using silver-mercury amalgam fillings to restore decayed or broken teeth.   These materials contain about 50% mercury combined with silver and other metals.  The worked well but they are not only ugly and unnatural in appearance, but they have the potential of creating fractures in the teeth cause by the expansion and contraction of the mercury within the filling.  In the past the only other alternative was gold and that was too expensive for most folks.

For about the last 15 years or so there has been an economical way to beautifully restore teeth in the Shelby Township, Sterling Heights area  using tooth-colored resin fillings.  The resin is made up of glass particles in a plastic matrix which is like clay as we mould it and shape its surface.  We bond the putty-like material to the tooth with a high-intensity light.  This hardens the material and allows it to be shaped and polished for immediate use.

Once completed, the tooth has a natural appearance and is actually stronger than before due to the strength of the adhesive agent used to bond the resin to the tooth. Because these fillings bond to the teeth they can remain very small whereas in the past the silver-mercury fillings had to have a large hole drilled to hold the filling in place.  Resin restorations not only look better, but they are stronger and last longer than the old silver-amalgam fillings.

Resin restorations are slightly more costly than the amalgam fillings because of the time and expertise required to place them is much greater.  The benefits of increased natural beauty and safety are worth the difference in price.  Insurance usually covers the amount that the silver amalgam filling would cost and you, the patient, are responsible for the difference.  The price range is from $150 to $350 per tooth.

Please call our Shelby Dental office at  (586.247.3500)  The Gentle Dentist to have any questions  you may have about the benefits of resin restorations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently came out with a statement  that claims that the silver/mercury amalgam fillings may be harmful to pregnant women, children, fetuses and people who are sensitive to mercury exposure.  This came out after years of asserting that mercury in fillings was safe.  According to the FDA website Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.