|
Silver fillings have been used for dental filling material for about 100 years. They are the black metal type of fillings (containing about 50% mercury! along with tin, silver and other metals such as zinc or copper mixed together) and generally were used in dentistry for years only because they are an easily placed filling material. Now that newer, more aesthetic and conservative composite (white) fillings are coming out with stronger materials and quartz fillers for better wear, most people are getting those placed instead. Since the material is mostly mercury, it expands quickly with temperature changes (just like the mercury in a thermometer does). As a result, most teeth filled with amalgam end up getting fractures in them due to the thermal stresses of expansion on the teeth. Amalgams have a higher rate of causing tooth stresses and fractures. However, since amalgams are the least expensive type of filling, most insurance companies only pay for amalgam fillings.
|
Patients 
