Blog

Upgrade your fillings

Silver fillings may sound classy, but you know what: silver fillings are not actually silver. If you take a look at your own in the mirror, you’ll see that they only look a bit silver. Without any light on them, they actually look more dark grey to black. That’s not so classy, is it? So, let’s call them metal fillings instead.

At Parbold Dental Practice, many of our patients are changing from metal to white fillings in Ormskirk. And white is classier.

Why change from metal to white fillings?

Amalgam fillings may be deemed safe, but they contain mercury, which some people believe can lead to ill health. Some patients see this as a good reason to have all their amalgam fillings removed and replaced with white composite fillings.

White fillings work differently from amalgam. The white composite is packed into the cavity in layers, and each one is cured with a UV light. Once the layers have filled the tooth and the top layer has been cured, the dentist is able to sculpt the surface of the filling, recreating the grooves and ridges present on the chewing surface of a natural molar. This is impossible to achieve with amalgam, which only gives a flat chewing surface. Imagine what a difference that can make if each of your molars has a filling it. Suddenly, it becomes much easier to process your food again.

Another important reason to opt for white fillings is that with them, the dentist only has to remove the decayed part of the tooth. With amalgam, the dentist has to take out healthy tooth tissues as well. This creates a bigger cavity with thinner sides, weakening the tooth. Therefore, white composite creates stronger teeth than amalgam, and these are likely to last longer.

Lastly, white fillings look much better. You can roar with laughter and not worry that your companions are being treated to a display of your dental history. All they see are rows of lovely, strong white teeth.

You can make the move from metal to white fillings in one fell swoop, or you can replace them one by one as your old silver fillings wear out.