Dr. Shaw prefers placing white fillings in your teeth instead of the old-fashioned amalgam fillings. Patients prefer them overwhelmingly.
Advantages of white fillings include:
* They bond to the tooth, making the tooth stronger instead of weakening it the way amalgams do. Your teeth are more likely to fracture with amalgam fillings in them.
* They are less irritating to the teeth, so you generally don't have the prolonged sensitivity to cold that is typical of metal fillings.
* Because of the placement techniques, with white fillings the dentist only has to remove the decay. Weakened tooth structure can be bonded, thus making the white filling considerably smaller than a comparable amalgam.
* Not only are amalgam fillings black, but they stain your teeth. Once you're used to white, you won't want anything else.
