If you do an internet search for sliver fillings you will get about 1,800,000 sites that come up. There is a huge amount of passion put into the arguments about whether silver fillings are bad for you or not. (These fillings could more accurately be called mercury fillings because there is more mercury in them than silver. In addition, they hardly look silver color!)

There are people we respect greatly who tell us that silver fillings are harmless and those we trust who tell us that these restorations are deadly. The truth is probably somewhere in between these two divergent viewpoints. Undoubtedly there are patients who have metal sensitivities who are harmed by these restorations and others probably not at all. We choose not to use this controversial filling material (and haven't for over 20 years) because there are other materials that are better.

One fact that is indisputable is that a very large percentage of silver fillings weaken the very teeth that they occupy! The larger the silver filling that is in the tooth, the more likely it is that the tooth will fracture over time. Below are examples of how teeth with large silver fillings commonly break:

The CEREC technique that Dr. Lawler uses can strengthen teeth like this in a one appointment procedure that is far more conservative than other techniques.

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