Different Fillings

DrIndy

What is the difference between different types of fillings?

I know amalgam is best as it is most durable, but white fillings are better hidden, but what other options are available (such as gold) and what is the price/usability/cosmetic difference?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

That's a big question Dr. Indy

Fillings can be direct or indirect. Direct fillings are placed in the mouth by the dentist and go hard over time or when in contact with strong light. Amalgam and white composite fillings are direct.

Direct Fillings
1. Amalgam - mixture of Silver and mercury and other metals (perfectly safe in the amalgam form) Cheap, Durable, strong but ugly

2. Composite - mixture or silica. glasses and resin, set on contact with bright visible light. Expensive, strong and looks good (if well placed can look exactly like teeth) but because its a resin it shrinks when setting and can cause tiny gaps around the edges causing staining, decay and sensitivity. Not really suitable for really big fillings.

Indirect restorations are made from impressions taken of the cavity by the dentist and constructed in the lab by a dental technician. This means they can be made of stronger materials and can fit into the cavity really really well.
Crowns - cover all the tooth 360 degrees. The tooth must be prepared for the crown to fit over it.
Bridges - two crowns with a false tooth between then
Resin Bonded Bridges - False tooth cemented to the back of one or two adjacent teeth.
Inlays - metal or ceramic cemented into the inside of a cavity.
Onlay - inlay that covers some of the outside of the tooth also.

1. Gold - very very durable, biocompatible and the fit is excellent. Expensive
2. Non - precious alloy - very strong, biocompatible but the fit is not as good as gold. Expensive
3. Porcelain - looks very good even better than composite. Strong but brittle. Expensive
4. Porcelain fused to metal - best of metal like gold + the aesthetics of porcelain. Expensive

Dentures are removable false teeth made or acrylic resin, some better ones have a chrome metal skeleton.

Squaddy

Q. Does all teeth with fillings effect you in later life? And if they do how big does the filling need to be?