Tooth Colored Fillings / White Fillings

Serving Fort Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, and Boca Raton, Florida

Tooth Colored Fillings Patient in West Palm Beach

More than 90 percent of adults will need at least one dental filling during their lifetimes. Because tooth fillings are so common, dental patients do not always consider what type of filling they would prefer, or even if one type of tooth filling is more beneficial than another.

Since he runs a metal-free dental practice, Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Sarris does not offer metal amalgam fillings. They have many disadvantages and tooth-colored fillings have many advantages.

Advantages of Tooth Colored Fillings
There are two ways of giving you a white fillings that will blend invisibly with your natural teeth. One uses dental composite – a form of the bonding material used in tooth bonding. The other uses dental porcelain – the same substance used for porcelain veneers and tooth crowns.

These two types of tooth-colored fillings have strong advantages over metal fillings:

  • They enhance your smile rather than marring it with a dark gray color;
  • They strengthen the teeth they fill because they are bonded to them and made part of them. In contrast, metal fillings weaken the teeth they fill.
  • They give off no vapor or particles that could harm your health;
  • They will never discolor the tooth they fill.

You can read more about each type of tooth-colored filling at Composite Fillings and Porcelain Dental Inlays and Onlays.

The Disadvantages of Metal Fillings
Dr. Sarris has a metal-free policy in his office, meaning that none of your dental restorations will ever have metal in them. Besides looking unattractive, metal amalgam fillings are harmful in several ways:

  • They contain about 50 percent mercury, a known toxin;
  • They expand and contract with the hot and cold foods we eat, weakening tooth structure;
  • They are not bonded to the teeth, but just packed in tightly. Thus they exert an outward pressure against the tooth’s periphery that will eventually crack the tooth.
They require the removal of healthy tooth tissue in order for the cavity to be shaped. It must be shaped so as to hold the amalgam in, since it is not bonded to the tooth.

The mercury in metal amalgam is known to give off mercury vapor that is absorbed by the body. However, it is not known whether the amount of vapor is significantly harmful to your health. Dr. Sarris would rather not subject you to any risk from mercury, especially since it is not necessary. He therefore offers only metal-free, tooth colored fillings.

Although the initial cost of tooth colored fillings may be higher than that of traditional metal fillings, the greater safety, more pleasing appearance, and longer tooth life all give you increased benefit over metal fillings. Please see our affordability page for more on cost.

To learn more about white fillings or to schedule your complimentary consultation, we invite you to contact Dr. John Sarris today. We serve Fort Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, and Lighthouse Point in Florida and we look forward to meeting with you.

 

Contact Us
561.278.7450
John G. Sarris, D.M.D., P.A.
1911 S. Federal Highway, Suite 600
Delray Beach, Florida 33483