Our office is decicated to providing the highest quality of dental care possible for our patients. This includes filling cavities with white composite material whenever possible. Placing white composite materials require considerably more time, enhanced techniques and expensive materials. Yes, this means an increased cost to all our loyal patients. None the less, the benefits greatly outweigh the increased costs. The average silver filling is 50% mercury together with 30% silver and a bit of copper, tin and zinc. That’s why they call it an amalgam. While we don’t believe it is toxic or harmful yet, it just doesn’t offer the benefits of a composite restoration. We try and utilize composite fillings in place of amalgam fillings. We do this for the following reasons:

• A composite filling is stronger because it actually bonds to your tooth. The composite bonds all the remaining walls of the tooth together. Amalgams do not bond to tooth structure, there is a gap between the filling and the tooth which significantly decreases the strength of the tooth. This gap can provide a pathway for bacteria and acid to get into and cause further decay.
• Amalgam fillings expand and contract so much, they create a wedge in the tooth leading to a weakened tooth. The tooth, over time will eventually break apart and the only thing remaining in your mouth will be the filling.
• Silver fillings are ugly and we like to give people beautiful teeth. The “enamel like” look of composite fillings create natural smiles and happy patients.

Although we realize there is an increased cost to our patients, we feel that the quality of dental care associated with composite fillings greatly outweighs the added cost incurred. We will always offer our patients leading edge technology with a caring and professional attitude. We will only recommend to you what is best for your dental health and what we provide for ourselves and our families.