Yesterday, a patient came in with a request I don\u2019t hear as often these days:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cDoctor, I want the metal filling \u2014 the old silver one. It\u2019s stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
He told me his old silver amalgam filling had lasted more than ten years. Recently, he had replaced it with a tooth-coloured one, but that fell out after only two months. To him, it seemed like proof that silver was the champion of fillings.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true \u2014 silver amalgam fillings have been used for over a century, and they are incredibly durable. But dentistry has moved on, not because amalgam suddenly became \u201cbad,\u201d but because we\u2019ve learned more about how teeth age, how materials behave in the mouth, and what\u2019s healthiest in the long run.<\/p>\n
Why We\u2019ve Stepped Away from Silver Amalgam<\/h3>\n
1. More Drilling Means Less Tooth Left<\/strong>
Amalgam doesn\u2019t stick to teeth \u2014 it\u2019s held in by shape. That means we have to drill away healthy tooth structure just to make the filling stay in place. Over time, this can leave the tooth weaker and more prone to breaking.<\/p>\n2. Expansion and Cracks<\/strong>
Metal changes size with temperature. Every hot coffee and cold drink makes the amalgam expand and contract slightly. Over years, this movement can cause fine cracks in the tooth, which may lead to bigger problems later.<\/p>\n3. Mercury Content<\/strong>
Amalgam is a mix of metals \u2014 silver, tin, copper, and mercury. The mercury is stable when bound in the filling, but many patients prefer to avoid it entirely. Globally, there\u2019s also concern about environmental mercury waste, which has led to a gradual phase-down in many countries.<\/p>\n4. No Bonding Support<\/strong>
Because amalgam doesn\u2019t bond to the tooth, it doesn\u2019t help hold the remaining tooth together. If the surrounding tooth chips or fractures, the filling can loosen or fall out.<\/p>\n5. Appearance<\/strong>
While health comes first, appearance matters too. A silver filling is visible whenever you laugh or talk, while modern dentistry aims to keep restorations as natural-looking as possible.<\/p>\nI explained all this to my patient. Yes, amalgam is strong, and yes, it can last many years \u2014 but it can also slowly weaken the tooth it\u2019s protecting. Dentistry today isn\u2019t just about a filling surviving; it\u2019s about the tooth<\/em> surviving for decades to come.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why even though silver amalgam has served us well for generations, we now choose materials and techniques that protect the tooth structure, reduce long-term risks, and keep your smile looking natural.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yesterday, a patient came in with a request I don\u2019t hear as often these days: \u201cDoctor, I want the metal filling \u2014 the old silver one. It\u2019s stronger.\u201d He told me his old silver amalgam filling had lasted more than ten years. Recently, he had replaced it with a tooth-coloured one, but that fell out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oral-health","category-real-talk-dental-practice"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ChatGPT-Image-Aug-13-2025-at-12_45_37-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":434,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smilewithdrmel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}