Amalgam fillings, those made out of metals such as silver and gold, serve a very useful purpose among the various available filling materials. At Family Smiles Dental, we're pleased to offer a choice in dental fillings because each person and each situation is different. When you do have a cavity that needs to be addressed, you can count on our
Burlington Ontario dentist and our amalgam fillings to do the job.
Dental Fillings Burlington
Choosing whether composite fillings or amalgam filings are appropriate often boils down to where the tooth is located. Back teeth have two features which usually make amalgam the better option. First, your back teeth absorb the majority of the force when you chew. Amalgam fillings are extremely strong and have no difficulty standing up to the force involved. Second, your back teeth are not visible and so our
Burlington Ontario dentist knows you won't have to concerned that metal fillings won't match the color of your tooth. They can't be seen when you smile or laugh. Silver and gold fillings both have a typical durability of at least 10 to 15 years. Furthermore, silver is usually more reasonably priced than composite fillings.
Although sometimes sought out for their appearance, the drawbacks of gold filings are that they are considerably more expensive than either composite of silver, two sessions with our
Burlington Ontario dentist may be needed to finish a gold filling, and when a gold filling is placed next to a silver filling it can cause galvanic shock. While this happens rarely, what this means is that your saliva combined with the reaction between the two metals could cause a sharp pain that comes from an electrical current that is created. Amalgam fillings require more space and therefore you lose more of your natural tooth material in the process. They are more prone to cracking and fracturing due to expansion and contraction that occurs naturally. And although not a common occurrence, about 1% of people have an allergy to mercury, which is found in amalgam fillings. Weighing the pros and cons along with our guidance and advice will help in making a final decision about your fillings.
Amalgam Dental Fillings Burlington
4903 Thomas Alton Blvd, Unit 105
Burlington, Ontario L7M 0W8
905-331-2424
By Family Smiles Dental
August 13, 2014
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