Whats the difference between a silver filling and a tooth-colored filling?
A silver filling is composed of an alloy of several metals: mainly, silver, mercury, and smaller amounts of other heavy metals. You may be aware of an ongoing debate about the detrimental effects of mercury in silver fillings with regard to kidney function and nerve transmission. A simple fact to keep in mind is that silver fillings have been used with great success for over a hundred years and there have been very, very few reports of problems related to their use. There is, however, a newer generation of tooth-colored fillings made from glass particles in a resin base. One distinct advantage of this material over silver fillings is that they are “bonded”, which means they can prevent leakage by forming a seal between the filling and the tooth. For this reason, and because they are so much more esthetic, patients have opted almost exclusively for placement of tooth-colored over silver filling.
