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Amalgam Versus Composite FillingsAre white dental fillings best for your teeth?This article discusses the recent popularity of composite or white fillings as alternatives to silver or amalgam fillings.
Dental amalgam has been used by dentists for the past 150 years. It has been the most tested dental material to date. Yet its safety as a filling material has been questioned. The controversy lies in its ingredients, namely the mercury content of the filling. However, there are few studies that conclusively show that amalgam (or silver) fillings are actually dangerous. There are, however, better choices available to the public. The composite or white fillings offer numerous advantages over amalgam. Amalgam fillingsDental amalgam consists roughly as a 50/50 mix of mercury and an alloy powder, usually composed of silver, zinc or palladium. They are dispensed in capsules and once activated by the dentist, is shaken or triturated to mix both ingredients thorougly. When finished, the resulting soft metallic ball , is removed from the capsule. The dentist places this soft material into the confines of the dental cavity in bulk and condenses it until filled. He then carves the material to make it fit the bite of the patient. He must do all of the above within a few minutes, before the material hardens to such a point as to render it useless. Composite fillingsComposites are formed from polymers, forming a hard plastic. Fillers are placed with the polymers to lend strength to the material. Fillers could consist of quartz, silica or barium. Unlike amalgam, there are no time constraints with composites when it comes to placement. Most are light curable, so the dentist has time to place and carve the material before curing it Advantages and disadvantagesBesides placement, there are many other advantages to composite fillings. Composite fillings come in a variety of colors, so they can be matched to the color of the patient's own teeth. This can make them literally disappear. If esthetics are involved, composite fillings are superior as amalgam fillings tend to turn black over a period of time from oxidation and corrosion. Comsoite fillings also lend strength to the tooth, while amalgams don't. When a composite is placed, the bond or glue is placed into the cavity prepartion first. This acts to glue the composite filling to the tooth, essentially splinting the tooth together. Amalgam just fills up the hole, so to speak, and doesn't attach to anything. As a result, the tooth flexes around the amalgam during mastication, causing small cracks that with time can cause breakage within the tooth. Composite fillings are also repairable. Amalgam fillings aren't. If a composite chips, the same bond, as mentioned before, can lute the new composite to the older composite, creating a unifed filling. Whereas amalgam needs to be be removed completely. There isn't a dental material available currently that can adequately repair amalgam. If a repair is attempted, a space will form microscopically between the amalgam and the repair material, allowing contaminants to work their way down to the bottom, causing caries to potentially restart. Amalagam does have its place, however and can be considered for people who have poor oral hygiene, limited funds or when moisture control is problematic. But for their superior esthetics, repairability, strength and use of non-controversial ingredients, composites should be the filling of choice.
The copyright of the article Amalgam Versus Composite Fillings in Oral Health is owned by Cyrus Dehkan. Permission to republish Amalgam Versus Composite Fillings in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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