Silver or amalgam filling or tooth colored or composite fillings? Like most things, there are pros and cons to both. Silver fillings have been around for 80 years. Some of my 90 year old patients still have there silver fillings that were placed 50 plus years ago. Can we say that about the composite or tooth colored fillings?? We don't have the time study to say. Well placed and well maintained they may very well last as long. Only time will tell. They are more technic sensitive to place and more time consuming, but we love the way they look. Or do you pick a porcelain inlay? I really depends on the amount of tooth structure that is available and the nature of the existing tooth (i.e. fractures, decay, occlusion, habits such as grinding or clenching). All possible treatment options will be presented as well as the pros and cons so you can make an educated decision about your tooth and treatment.
Tooth colored fillings
Tooth colored crowns and bridges
Gold used to be the standard for all crowns, primarily due to its abililty to be sealed by burnishing the gold against the tooth. Now adays, with the improvements in impression materials and the computer generated crown cores the neccessity to "finish" a crown is something of the past. Digitizing of the tooth and computer generated crowns has improved our quality of the fit and the esthetics.
Dentures
Dentures are becoming a rare option these days but non the less, a necessary one for some people. We like to make them as natural as possible and request pictures that display a persons natural dentition so we can mimic that in the denture. Implants have been a lifesaver in making dentures more stable and are definitely worth the investment. A consultation will help you determine if that is an option for you.
