There are many different types of filling material. Resin, Amalgam, onlays and, inlays are just a few to name.
Composite resins have a lot going for them. Their cosmetic properties are unsurpassed. With a composite filling you can’t tell where the enamel and resin meet. The material is placed in layers, and cured at each step the filling is actually strengthens the tooth structure.
Inlays and Onlays allows A conservative tooth restoration that requires r less tooth removal than a crown, an onlay or a inlay increases tooth strength and provides enduring protection for the tooth. All in lays and onlays is made at a lab. The lab will custom make the onlay/ inlay to fit the patient’s tooth exactly. Once back from the lab the doctor bonds the permanent onlay to the tooth.
Amalgam fillings do contain Mercury. *Mercury vapors are all around us, all the time.
There’s more mercury in a can of tuna fish than in a filling.
Though a like amount of mercury is combined with other metals to obtain a filling alloy, the resulting amalgam has different characteristics than any of its parts. The mercury in amalgam becomes inert, with only a trace of vapors after placement.
*Over the life of a filling, amalgams do break down. For patients with an average of seven fillings, the daily intake of mercury amounts to about 0.3 micrograms. According to the World Health Organization, a safe daily threshold of exposure is 300 to 500 micrograms.
But are these fillings safe? As far as we know, yes. There never has been a study–and never will be–that can prove anything is absolutely safe for every individual. This means, as doctors, we keep up with scientifically valid research and testing, and keep an open mind to alternative materials.