Amalgam Fillings

If your child has a cavity then it is important to remove the area of tooth decay and to fill the tooth as soon as possible. This prevents the tooth decay from spreading further and the filing seals out bacteria, preventing the tooth from becoming re-infected. (see: tooth decay treatment) Our kids dentist in New Jersey will carefully remove the infected and damaged area of the tooth before repairing it.

Advantages of Using Amalgam Fillings to Repair Back Teeth

The advantages of using amalgam filings include:

• Amalgam is an extremely strong and reliable filling material and it has been successfully used for more than 100 years.
• It is very good for repairing cavities in back teeth as these are not visible when a child smiles.
• The back teeth are exposed to stronger chewing forces and amalgam can be used to fill even quite large cavities in kids. Amalgam is less technique sensitive than tooth colored composite fillings resins and generally takes less time to place. This can be better for children who are particularly anxious or who become stressed when receiving dental treatment.
• Amalgam fillings tend to be more reliable when used to repair the contact areas in between teeth, or in areas where the tooth decay in children involves several different tooth surfaces.

Some people are concerned about the use of amalgam fillings as this material does contain a small amount of mercury. Extensive studies have been carried out into the possible side effects of amalgam fillings and both the FDA and the American Dental Association have concluded it is safe for use. It can be a strong and economical way to repair children’s teeth and our clinic takes every precaution to ensure this material is safely used.

D2140 Amalgam, One Surface (Perm or Primary)

D2150 Amalgam, Two Surface (Perm or Primary)

D2160 Amalgam, Three Surface (Perm or Primary)

D2161 Amalgam, Four+ Surfaces (Perm or Primary)