Cosmetic Dental Services

Cosmetic and Restorative Care:

At Hutto Premier Dentistry we provide various restorative and cosmetic dental services including tooth-colored fillings, porcelain crowns, onlays, veneers, and teeth whitening.

In regards to restorative dentistry, patients often ask, "is there mercury in my old silver fillings?"; or "should I replace these old silver fillings?" While dental amalgam is rarely used in our office, we would like to help clarify information you may have come across in regards to dental amalgam. Like most dentists, we practice evidence-based dentistry. This means we perform dentistry based on what sound scientific evidence indicates is the best way to practice. With that in mind, here are the facts about dental amalgam:

Dental amalgam is a stable alloy made by combining inorganic mercury, silver, tin, copper and zinc. The mercury in amalgam combines with the other metals to render it stable and safe for use in filling teeth. There is currently no scientific evidence that the mercury in amalgam is related to any disease. Likewise, there is also no evidence that removal of amalgam fillings will prevent or cure any type of disease or illness.Major U.S. and international scientific and health bodies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, among others all agree that dental amalgam is a safe, reliable and effective restorative material.

All of that being said, there are many times when old silver fillings must be replaced due to decay, fracture, or failure of the restoration. When these things happen replacement is indicated. There are also instances when you may want to replace an old filling for cosmetics reasons, and this is valid. However, we never recommend the replacement of an old silver filling for the sake of replacement, as this would be a disservice.