| Restorative Care
There are two basic kinds of fillings--silver and tooth colored. Tooth colored fillings are becoming more and more popular because they simply look better. I will use a tooth colored filling or resin whenever it is located in a person's smile line. I still use silver or amalgam though, mostly because this material has a long history of dependability. It is also still the least expensive material to use. I have seen amalgams that are still in place after fifty years. I really can't say the same for resins though they continue to improve.
The resin or tooth colored filling material can also be used to do bondings. This is when your dentist places the material on the front of your tooth to either change its shape (possibly to make it appear straighter} or to make it look whiter (maybe you have tetracycline stained teeth). Using light cured resin material to bond teeth is less expensive than using porcelain. However, they don't last as long and they are prone to staining.
A final note. I do not recommend removing all your old silver fillings and replacing them with tooth colored resins or porcelain inlays or onlays. The mercury that is in your silver fillings is chemically bound to the silver and copper in the filling and I do not believe it is a threat to your health.
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