What is the difference between silver and white fillings? 

Introduction

Well, the difference is that they are different materials one obviously being silver in colour the other white, each with its own characteristics and benefits

(This little article looks at their use in the back teeth.)

The materials

The silver filling material is an amalgam (hence the term dental amalgam) of different metals (e.g. silver, tin) combined with mercury. In the past there has been some safety issues raised with the presence of mercury in this material but as it is combined with other metals it has been found to be safe. For further information there is a good fact file entitled Dental Amalgam Safety produced by the British Dental Association (A copy is available in the surgery). The short of it is ‘dental amalgam is a safe material to use in restorative dentistry with respect to patients’.

The white filling materials are usually composites. These are routinely used in the front teeth.

It is the properties of the materials that decide how good they are:

The white fillings are tooth coloured and look nice and the silver fillings don’t.

Although not looking as pleasant don’t write the silver fillings off just yet until you’ve read the next bit.

The silver fillings have a good track record i.e. they have been around for a long time and we know that they work.

On average the white fillings will only last half the time of the silver.

The white fillings tend to shrink a little on setting, this means that they can pull away from the tooth. Hence there is an increased risk of sensitivity after. However techniques and materials have been developed to minimise this.

All materials ‘creep’. (i.e. if you take a cube of blue tack and push with you’re finger on the top it moves or creeps.) The composites creep twice as much as the silver.

The white materials are not as strong as the silver and are best used in small cavities

The white materials are more expensive and take longer to place in the tooth so the costs are higher.

To give you some idea

Silver filings vary from    £40 - £80     depending on the size

White fillings vary from   £40 - £120    depending on the technique and material

I personally offer a budget white filing which is the same cost as the silver but doesn’t carry any guarantees because of the higher chance of failure or complications and it only comes in one shade.

The options I offer then are:

J Mark Thorpe