Our office is mercury free. Amalgam mercury fillings are the dinosaurs of dentistry. Imagine putting 150-year old technology in your mouth today! Plus, they consist of 43-54% mercury. Placing this material has become very controversial.
We only use composite (white) filling material. We are able to make much smaller preparations thus conserving more natural tooth structure. The composite is bonded to the tooth and will not fall out. Because composite is not a metal, you also will not have the constant expansion and contraction in your mouth. The result: less sensitivity to temperature, less chance of teeth cracking and much more esthetic!
This is a picture of a mercury-amalgam filling in the back of a 40-year old male patient’s front tooth.
The fractures in the tooth and the decay around the margin of the filling are the result of expansion and contraction of the filling. All metal expands and contracts with heat and cold, and the result is pressure placed on the tooth.
This inevitably results in the fractures and open margins you see in this picture. This leads to leaks and formation of decay. Therefore, we never place mercury-amalgam in any of our patient’s teeth.