Amalgam Fillings

Amalgam fillings are the traditional variety of dental filling used by the dentist to fill in the tooth area after decay was removed from the patient’s tooth. This filling is a mixture of silver with other different metals such as copper, zinc and tin bound with elemental mercury liquid. The mercury makes up between 45-50% of the mixture and functions as glue that binds these metals into a hard, stable and safe substance that can last for twelve years or longer.

The procedure starts first by removing the decay from the tooth. The tooth is then shaped in a specific manner for it to accept the filling material. A band maybe placed around your tooth and the amalgam is condensed in to the prepared tooth. The amalgam is then placed into the tooth. Lastly, the final filling is then carved and adjusted according to patient’s bite.

One of the advantages of the use of Amalgam Fillings is that it is strong, quick and easy to fill. It also expands over time to fill the entire space of the cavity. More importantly, it is less costly and more cost effective than Composite Resin Fillings.

However, amalgam fillings are quite noticeable and tend to blacken in color over time. Also, as silver fillings expand, their edges are susceptible to breaking off. Silver fillings leach into the dentinal tubules inside the tooth leaving a permanent blue – gray halo that even bleaching can not remove. The safety of amalgam fillings has been in issue for several years due to apprehension over the absorption of elemental mercury contributing to several diseases, like Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, dementia and arthritis. But to date, it is not proven that the small amount of mercury vapors released from silver fillings is a health hazard.