Correctly cleaning your teeth and maintaining a healthy diet can help to eliminate tooth decay and avoid the need for fillings. Regular oral health check-ups will make sure any problems are identified and treated early.
Fillings
Dental fillings are used to restore teeth back to their normal shape, appearance (tooth coloured fillings) and function by filling in cavities caused by tooth decay. Fillings are more often required in the molar (back) teeth where decay rates are higher.
The types of filling material used by your dentist may include:
- tooth-coloured fillings
- dental amalgam (silver coloured).
Other forms of tooth restoration, such as gold or ceramic crowns, are an expensive alternative to amalgam and tooth-coloured filling materials.
Tooth coloured fillings
Tooth-coloured (white) fillings have been used in front teeth for cosmetic reasons for many years. Recent improvements in filling materials for back teeth mean these are now more affordable and widely used as an alternative to dental amalgam.
Dental amalgam
Dental amalgam (‘silver filling’) is an inexpensive and highly durable material commonly used for filling teeth. Modern dental amalgam is a metal alloy that is generally made up of mercury, silver and tin, with small amounts of copper and zinc.
Mercury in dental amalgam fillings
Concerns have been raised about the use of dental amalgam because it contains mercury. While high levels of mercury are harmful to human health, the modern dental amalgam has low mercury content. Repeated international reviews of the scientific evidence have been unable to link the use of dental amalgam directly with ill health.
The current advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia is that, for most people, these low levels of mercury exposure will not affect their general health.
While there is currently no scientific evidence directly linking amalgam with either ill health or birth defects, pregnant or breastfeeding women and people with kidney disease are not recommended to use amalgam fillings as a precautionary measure. These people should discuss the most appropriate filling material with their oral health professional.
The removal of silver fillings releases mercury into the environment. As such, silver fillings should not be removed unless there’s a good reason to do so (for example, if there is broken, new decay).
Sealants
A dental sealant is a tooth-coloured plastic film that is professionally applied to the deep grooves on the back of the teeth where tooth decay most often starts.
The bacteria in plaque live in these grooves and make acid which causes tooth decay. Dental sealants assist in preventing the build up of plaque acids on the enamel surface of teeth and they are of value in the prevention of tooth decay. A good time to apply sealants is soon after permanent teeth are fully erupted. Discuss with an oral health professional whether this will be beneficial to you.