Tooth Colored Fillings

Tooth Colored Fillings (Composites)

We like composite/resin fillings for their natural appearance and the near perfect color match we can get with your teeth. Composite fillings also bond better to your teeth, helping to restore your tooth’s natural strength.

The use of silver/mercury fillings has not been used for many years in our dental practice. It has been found that old silver fillings darken the teeth, and usage of silver fillings for the past 100 years has helped create a condition we refer to as “cracked tooth syndrome”.  Silver fillings act like a wedge in the tooth, greatly weakening the enamel.  This can lead to cracking of varying degrees.  Early shallow cracks may only be noticeable through magnifying the tooth with an intraoral video camera system which all our treatment rooms are equipped with.  Some of the symptoms of more extensive cracks are sudden sensitivity to temperatures (especially cold) and sharp pain when biting on the tooth.  Don’t ignore these warning signs.  A crack can extend into the pulp (nerve) of the tooth and cause an abscess or can even split the tooth where it cannot be saved.  Usually if the cracked tooth is discovered early enough, a crown or onlay (3/4 crown) can be placed to reinforce the tooth.  How can we prevent this cracked tooth syndrome form occurring?  Have regular check-ups (especially people with many large, old silver fillings) so any problems can be detected early.

cracked tooth next to large failing amalgam (silver) filling

Our recommendation is when the old silver fillings need to be replaced; it’s a good time to replace all restorations in that arch. The difference between an arch with silver fillings and an arch with white bonded filling replacements is remarkable! Your smile will immediately brighten up with the gray silver fillings being removed.

In this photograph the back two teeth used to be filled with dark silver-mercury fillings and we replaced them with these beautiful bonded restorations.