Dental Fillings Scottsdale AZ
If your child has been to another pediatric dentist in the past, then it is possible that when filling cavities the dentist used silver amalgam fillings, more commonly known as “silver fillings.”
Dentists have used silver fillings for more than a century. Although they are old technology, silver fillings still have some advantages. Possibly the most significant advantage to you, from a parent’s point of view, is that silver fillings are usually the least expensive cavity filling option available. Other types of dental fillings, like porcelain ceramics or gold, can be expensive by comparison.
At Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry, we do not use silver fillings. Instead, we use a tooth-colored composite material that has many modern advantages for our child patients and their parents.
Read on to see how we are the best choice if your child needs a dental filling in Phoenix or Scottsdale, Arizona.
Why We Do Not Use Silver Dental Fillings
When they were introduced in the late 1800s, silver fillings were the latest technology available. Now they are an anachronism, still burdened with limitations and disadvantages that, while patients had to accept them in 1900, have been overcome today by the introduction of modern composite resin dental filling materials.
Because silver fillings have been used for so long, their drawbacks are well-known to dentists. They include:
The edges of a silver filling can wear down, become weak or break
This results in the tooth not being protected, and lets cavities get started again.
The metal in a silver filling expands and contracts
Silver fillings can expand and contract especially when exposed to hot and cold beverages. Over time, this can lead to a form of “metal fatigue” that can cause the filling to crack, split, or even fall out.
Silver fillings weaken the structure of the tooth
They require the removal of healthy tooth enamel to put them into place, and as the filling itself expands, contracts, and begins to weaken over time it can contribute to problems like tooth cracking.
Silver fillings contain 50 percent mercury
As the filling material breaks down over time, they can corrode, leak and cause stains on your teeth and gums.
Silver fillings have limited uses
Silver fillings can be used to fill cavities, but that is about all. They cannot be used for restoring cracked or chipped teeth, or for dental bonding.
Silver fillings are highly visible
Especially when used to fill cavities in the front teeth or on the sides of teeth, silver fillings are impossible to hide and can turn your child’s self-confident smile into a self-conscious one.
All of these drawbacks were considered acceptable a century ago, because silver fillings replaced earlier cavity treatment options that were either even worse in their side effects or, like with ceramic fillings or gold fillings, were often unaffordable for the average family.
There is no reason why you should accept them today for your child. There is a better way now, a more modern and more comfortable way, and we offer it to you right here in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area.
Why We Use Composite Materials for Tooth Restoration
The material we use for dental fillings and tooth restoration is a composite resin. It not only overcomes all the disadvantages of silver fillings listed above, but it also has advantages of its own:
Resin material bonds strongly to the teeth
Resin creates a tight fit to the natural tooth superior to silver fillings.
Ceramic resin material is more durable than silver fillings
Although silver fillings may cost less to put in, they can cost more over time. They are weaker than composite fillings, and they will likely need to be replaced sooner.
Composite fillings can be used to do more than fill cavities
If much of the tooth structure has been lost, in many cases we can repair the tooth and reshape it to its former, natural appearance.
Composite fillings are less painful than silver fillings
Because the material we use bonds better to teeth than silver fillings do, this means less drilling is needed. Also, because composite resins create a better seal with the tooth, they promote long-term comfort because tooth decay is less likely to return to the same spot.
The tooth remains intact and stronger
Our tooth restoration procedure does not require us to remove healthy tooth enamel, and the tighter fit of the resin to the tooth also reinforces the strength of the tooth. Also, because the resin used in tooth-colored restorations contain and release fluoride after application, this can help to prevent tooth decay.
The resin wears like natural teeth
It does not require placement at the gum line, which is healthier for your child’s gums.
We can match the filling color to your child’s natural teeth
The beauty of ceramic resin material – in the actual as well as the figurative sense – is that compared to silver fillings it is practically invisible. No longer do cavity fillings mean the loss of an aesthetically pleasing and confident smile.
Modern Dental Fillings for Your Child in Scottsdale, AZ
There were many things that people commonly used 100 years ago that we do not use today, because they have been replaced with newer and better technology. Silver amalgam filling material is no exception to this trend.
One day, every dentist in Scottsdale will be a mercury-free practice. Just like Ironwood Pediatric Dentistry is today.
If your child has had a cavity filled with silver fillings, we will continue to maintain them. Or we can, if you prefer, replace old silver fillings with superior composite tooth restoration.
Are you worried about the dental filling cost of our tooth-colored restorations?
You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the modern-day dental filling procedures we use in our Scottsdale-Phoenix office are cost competitive with silver fillings.
They also give you better long-term value because they last longer and do not contribute to other problems like tooth cracking, lost fillings, and stained teeth.
Your health insurer or dental insurer will cover the cost of using tooth-colored restoration instead of silver fillings. If you need help paying for your child’s dental fillings, we can also help you with affordable monthly payment plans.
If your child is experiencing oral discomfort that you think may be from a tooth cavity, then call us today at (480) 422-4544 to schedule a dental filling near you with one of our child-friendly dentists.
Prefer to do things online? You can schedule an appointment with us here.
Or, if you have a question about composite fillings, other types of fillings, tooth-colored restoration, or any other pediatric dental services topic like orthodontics, ask us here and we will reply to you as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours.
Don’t let cavities, or unnatural-colored silver tooth fillings, stand between your child and a beautiful smile that comes with healthy teeth and gums. Call us today!
