Fillings Amalgam vs. Porcelain

"We can create fillings that are both strong and beautiful"

We will offer you an option for the materials to suit your own needs; gold, “composite”, amalgam or porcelain. We will advise you of the advantages and disadvantages of each for your own circumstance.

However, many people still have silver/mercury fillings in their mouths from years past and these fillings are not particularly pleasing to the eye. We know that by unavoidable design the mercury silver alloy does not bond to the material of the tooth, merely replacing the lost tooth substance with a tight fit.

Porcelain inlays and onlays and tooth coloured restorations create fillings that are not only beautiful (or unnoticeable) but also add strength to weakened teeth. These restorations are esthetically pleasing and very strong thanks to new bonding technologies.

Disadvantages of Silver Fillings

Silver fillings have many drawbacks apart from their appearance. The edges of the silver filling can wear down, become weak or break. This results in the tooth not being protected adequately and lets cavities get started once again by marginal deterioration and eventual leakage.; With age, the metal of a silver filling expands, contracts, and the remaining cusps of the natural tooth can split.

Although silver fillings contain 50 percent mercury, most authoritative medical bodies would not express concern that the minute amounts of mercury that can be measured in the body cause any adverse effects.

Advantages of Tooth-Coloured Restorations

There are many advantages to tooth coloured restorations. Resin onlays are bonded to the teeth creating a tight, superior fit to the natural tooth. Such restorations can be used in instances where much of the tooth structure has been lost. The tooth remains intact and stronger.

Since the resin used in tooth colored restorations contain fluoride this can help prevent decay.

Because light is transmitted through the porcelain in a manner similar to natural enamel, the final aesthetics mimics the original tooth.

Replacing Silver Fillings with a Tooth Colored Restoration

You can have your silver fillings replaced with tooth coloured restorations (inlays/onlays). This process traditionally require two appointments.

Traditional indirect two visit technique.

Your First Appointment:
1. The old filling is removed and any additional decay.
2. An impression is made of your teeth with an impression “putty”. A model of your teeth is made and sent to the lab.
3. A temporary onlay is placed on the tooth.

At the Lab:
The restoration is then made in the laboratory on a precision model of your tooth.

Your Second Appointment:
1. The temporary onlay is removed.
2. A conditioning gel is placed on your tooth to prepare it for the new onlay.
3. Bonding cement is placed on the tooth and a high intensity light bonds the resin to the tooth.
4. The tooth is then polished.

Your teeth are restored to a natural look and feel, they are stronger and the tooth is protected!

See also CEREC 3D direct one visit technique.

Instead of taking impressions of your teeth with a putty, we take an optical impression of your teeth and design and mill the restoration while you wait and can prepare, fit and finish the job in one visit.