Are white fillings any good

[Hayley]

Hello

I am considering changing all my silver fillings to white fillings. I have heard from some people that white fillings don't last at long as white fillings. I have also read that white fillings are not as strong as silver fillings. I do like the fact that by changing my silver fillings, my smile will look better on photos and without all the metal showing.

Taking into account all the pros and cons of changing fillings, in your opinion are white fillings any good?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. In my personal opinion, changing silver fillings to white fillings should be done if clinically necessary. However, increasingly we are asked by patients to change silver fillings to white fillings on cosmetic grounds.

The risks that changing fillings carry are that you may have tooth sensitivity afterwards. This can occasionally take months to fully settle down. If deep decay is found and removed, pain may even start and you may even need root canal. Its not common to need root canal treatment after filling change but it can happen.

White fillings adhere to tooth tissue better than silver fillings and clearly look better but for pure strength, obviously metal silver fillings are stronger than plastic white fillings.