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By CareRally - October 18th, 2011
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Dr. Swati Agarwal

Cavity Fillings

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Posted in: Fillings


My practice can provide a wide range of dental services. I can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer a patient to the other specialties. This flexibility saves patient’s time & keeps the total dental care within one practice. My emphasis is on total preventive care for my patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular checkups & continued home oral health routines.

My practice also provides the highest-quality services for restoring mouths that have been damaged by dental disease, injury & common problems that require cosmetic dentistry. My primary goal for my patients is to achieve & maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques, technologies & by maintaining their scheduled dental check-ups. Specifically, cavity fillings are very common in my practice.

  • Tooth coloured fillings bond to the tooth; they strengthen the tooth by restoring most of its original shape. Silver amalgams, on the other hand, weaken the teeth & make them more susceptible to breaking. Broken teeth can be very expensive to replace
  • Tooth coloured filling composites are preferred by most patients. This is due to the natural color, strength & overall appearance & feel. Composites are naturally more comfortable.
  • Hot & cold sensitivity is greatly reduced with composite material compared to the silver/mercury amalgams.
  • Restorations with composites require less removal of tooth, less structure to place than those with amalgams & especially with new cavities. Dramatically smaller holes are needed with a composite.
  • Tooth coloured fillings are healthier because no traces of mercury are used, unlike silver amalgams.

The concept of a “filling” is replacing & restoring tooth structure that is damaged due to decay or fracture with an artificial material. For over a century, dentists have been using mercury amalgam as fillings for cavities. As a result of the ongoing health controversy surrounding the use of mercury, I also use white fillings. The controversy is ongoing, sometimes bitter, & confusing to many. It was once believed that if a tooth was filled with amalgam, the mercury in the amalgam would harden & become inert. Now we know that’s not true, & that low levels of mercury vapor are released over time.

Mercury is a poison that in large doses can cause brain damage, kidney malfunction, memory loss, & depression. I do not recommend replacing existing mercury amalgam fillings, because the levels of mercury vapor released have not been shown to be a health hazzard. Tooth coloured composite fillings offer many benefits other than the abscence of mercury. They are much more natural looking, & never discolor neighboring teeth or tissues as mercury fillings are prone to do. Their durability has greatly improved in recent years.



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