Are White Fillings The Answer To The ‘Mercury’ Issue?

27 / 06 / 2018

Are White Fillings The Answer To The ‘Mercury’ Issue?

Cosmetic Dental Fillings Offer Our Ipswich Patients A Number Of Benefits

For years now, amalgam has been used for dental fillings, whether large or small. There is little doubt about its strength and durability, but it is not without its drawbacks either. The most obvious one of these is the dark colour of the filling which can even be seen on the rear teeth when we laugh or yawn.

For some patients though, the main concern is that they contain mercury, a potentially harmful substance.

We should be clear here that the General Dental Council and other professional bodies have deemed that the use of mercury in amalgam compounds is perfectly safe and presents no health risks. That said, there is a general move away from them, however, partially to reduce the amount of mercury in the environment, a reasonable amount of which comes via amalgam fillings.

According to a report today, the use of ultra-high strength MRI scans may also cause mercury to leak from amalgam. This type of scan is not yet widely used but could be more so in the future. With these factors in mind, it is worth considering having white fillings next time you need to have a tooth filled at the Lighthouse Dental Practice.

What are white fillings?

The mercury-free dental fillings that we use at our Ipswich practice can be used not only for fillings but also in composites for other dental restorations. The use of this material means less of the natural tooth has to be removed when compared to traditional amalgam fillings. The reason for this is that the bonding capacity of white fillings is excellent and does not rely on deeper cavities to hold them in place.

How strong are they?

One of the main ‘criticisms’ of white dental fillings in the past is that they lacked the strength of amalgam. It is true that earlier versions were not very strong or durable, but current types, such as those available at our dental practice, offer a level of strength that is almost equal to amalgam. White fillings can usually be used for all but the largest fillings which are often on the rear teeth. As these teeth come under a lot of stress when eating etc., the use of inlays or onlays may provide a better solution in some cases.

Whilst there is no immediate cause for concern if you currently have amalgam fillings unless perhaps, you are due to have an ultra-high MRI scan; you may wish to consider having a tooth-coloured filling for any future ones that you may need.

If you wish to discuss this with us, or any other treatment that we offer at our Ipswich practice, you can call the Lighthouse Dental Practice today on 01473 257379.

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If you would like to speak to a member of our friendly team about any of the issues in this article please visit our contact page or call us on 01473 257379.