The popularity of silver fillings has been increasing over the years. They are highly favoured options among many individuals. The benefits of installing this filling are just so many. It is one of the oldest forms of dental fillings that are available for your selection. The silver amalgam fillings are popular because they offer a lasting solution to various dental problems such as dental cavities and decay. Silver fillings are basically a mixture of several metals including mercury, silver, tin and copper. Mercury makes up about fifty percent of the amalgam. It is used to bind the metals together providing that strong, hard and durable filling.
How safe are silver amalgam fillings?
The safety of dental amalgam fillings has been called to question for a long time. Mercury has the potential of causing a lot of damage when it is ingested. So why should it be used to make dental amalgam fillings? This is because the mercury that is in dental amalgam is not poisonous at all. When mercury is combined with the metals mentioned above its nature changes. It is practically harmless. On top of that, the mercury that is released into the mouth under the pressure of grinding and chewing is so small. It should not be a cause for alarm at all. As a matter of fact it is by far less than the mercury people are exposed to in food, water and air.
Benefits of amalgam
Perhaps the main benefit of silver amalgam filling is the strength that it has to offer. If there is a dental filling that is strong then it has to be the silver amalgam. This has been in use as a dental solution for a very long time now- more than one hundred years. Tooth decay and mechanical damage to teeth does not have to be such a problem while you can access this fantastic treatment method.
Secondly, you can always trust silver amalgam to last for a very long time. Unlike most other dental fillings, this solution lasts for very long. You can keep the silver for more than thirty years without needing to do anything to it. The durability of silver amalgam fillings makes them a very popular choice among patients.
Alternatives to dental amalgam
There are several alternatives to silver amalgam fillings. They include composite resins, porcelain and cast gold restorations. The thing with these alternatives is that they are very expensive. Gold and porcelain restorations for instance take a long time to make and need as many as dental appointments. The porcelain and composite resins do take some time to install. They are aesthetically appealing but they are not nearly as durable as silver amalgam.
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