Silver fillings vs cosmetic/white fillings, what are the differences?

Many Differences: Silvers are faster to place ;, therefore, usually a little less costly. They are a bit more durable than white ones too. However, they contain lots of mercury ; also tend to break teeth over time, since they're very hard. And, they're ugly. White fillings usually cost a bit more, don't last quite as long, but look great. Also, when a white filling fails in the future, it's usually easier to fix.

Silver fillings or: Amalgam fillings are fillings of yesteryear. They are cheap fillings and certainly not the filling of choice of any quality oriented practice. With that said since economics is what insurance companies are most interested in, many will downgrade composite fillings to amalgam. Consider amalgam usage is banned in many countries, many states now require dental office to install amalgam seperator.

Filling types: Hey there... amalgam is a mixture of metals including a tiny amount of mercury that is what is called a spherical alloy. In other words it can be shaped into a true sphere, like the rounded sides of a tooth. Composite or tooth colored fillings are plastic polymer materials that can be laser and chemically bonded to the tooth.

Silver vs Composite: Both types of filling are suitable to use, the white filling material is more difficult to place and more time consuming. Besides being virtually invisible, composites have a property of bonding to the tooth structure.