{"id":318,"date":"2020-01-08T19:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patrickcrowleydds.com\/blog\/?p=318"},"modified":"2020-02-06T19:35:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T19:35:38","slug":"why-your-dentist-doesnt-use-metal-fillings-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patrickcrowleydds.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/08\/why-your-dentist-doesnt-use-metal-fillings-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Your Dentist Doesn\u2019t Use Metal Fillings Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"metal<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When you visit your dentist in Northwest OKC for a checkup<\/a>, one\ncrucial purpose of the appointment is to check for cavities. If you have any, your\ndentist will have to prescribe a filling. More than 90% of the population has\nhad a filling at some point. Bit what exactly are they made of? Metal amalgam\nfillings used to be quite common before composite resin became the modern standard.\nLet\u2019s take a closer look at the history of fillings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A Brief History of Metal Fillings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Around 1830, a dental restorative material known as amalgam\nwas created in England and France, and quickly spread to the United States. Amalgam\nwas composed of tin, silver, zinc, copper, and mercury. Within just a few\nyears, controversy arose over the trace amounts of mercury in the fillings.\nPeople worried whether that mercury would seep into the patient\u2019s system. In 1859,\na new organization was formed as a result of the internal debate among dentists\nat the time as to whether amalgam should be used \u2013 the American Dental Association.\nThey backed the idea that silver amalgam was the best material for fillings, as\nthey still do to this day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Metal Fillings Aren\u2019t Common Anymore <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the past few decades, amalgam fillings have been linked to\nhigher amounts of mercury in people\u2019s systems. For this reason, dentists began\nfinding other materials to fill cavities. The main one that stuck was called\ncomposite resin, a mixture of fine glass and acrylic particles that could be\nshaded to match the color of the existing tooth enamel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages of Composite Resin Fillings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Also called tooth-colored fillings, composite resin\nfillings, which are considered the gold standard by many dentists today, offer\nmany advantages over traditional metal fillings, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n