Tooth coloured filling materials

When having fillings placed in the back teeth there are numerous choices of materials available. The most common material used is amalgam. Even though this is commonly referred to as silver fillings a more accurate description would be mercury fillings as more that 50% of the metal alloy is comprised of mercury. There are two different schools of thought as to the safety of this material due to presence of such a toxic element as mercury. One group believes that the mercury is bound up in an alloy and once set will not be released unless it is subjected to very high temperatures.



The other group believes that you are placing amalgam in such an aggressive environment where you can have a change from very low temperatures to very high temperatures in milli seconds. One moment it may be highly acidic whilst the other moment it becomes very alkaline. To top this, an environment where you have a powerful fluid such as saliva, full of powerful and destructive enzymes constantly bathing the tissues. When one considers all these factors it seems reasonable to conclude that the alloy must undergo some type of degradation.



Other materials that may be used are cast materials such as gold and ceramic fillings. Whilst these have an excellent life they tend to be quite expensive, as the expertise of the lab is required, as well as being quite destructive: the property of the material decides the design of the restoration.



However, the favoured choice nowadays in our aesthetics driven society is tooth coloured composite. The advantages of this material are that it has no mercury. It is tooth coloured. I t does not require a destructive preparation of the tooth to allow its use. In fact, it strengthens teeth as it actually bonds to the tooth.



The down sides are it does not last as long as amalgam. It is very technique sensitive: it requires much more skill to use properly.



As with everything in life there are various grades of quality of tooth coloured resin filling materials. This affects the final appearance and result as well as the longevity of the actual material. Similar issues with material are also important in the consideration of denture implants. The higher quality products have durability and unsurpassed ability to mimic natural teeth. These materials have ceramic nano-particles and as a result nearly similar wear characteristics of natural teeth. Nationally there are a range of surgeons available with Edinburgh dentist practices some of the most highly regarded in the field.



Additionally the premium resins can be built up in three dimensional layers allowing the skilled cosmetic dentist to recreate subtle nuances in the natural teeth allowing the restorations to blend into the surroundings: invisible dentistry!