“Can you put a white filling over a silver filling?”
I am a 47 year old female. I wonder if you can put a white filling over a silver filling?
4 Answers
Yes, but not recommended. Removing the silver filling first is the appropriate way.
Composite(white) fillings can be bonded to amalgam(silver) fillings. However, not sure why you would do that?
No you want to take the silver out.
Hello,
Putting a white filling (tooth colored filling) over a silver filling is a good idea; however, in practice it does not work out to well. A silver filling does not get bonded, cemented, or glued to the tooth. It goes in as a powder and hardens into a solid. At this point the silver filling is basically balanced in the tooth. A silver filling requires certain dimensions to remain balanced. In order to put a white filling over the silver filling, the silver filling would have to be shortened to make room for the white filling. This would change the size and shape of the silver filling losing its balance. Once this happens the white filling would then be unsupported and break off.
The second part of the failure for a white filling to stay over a silver filling is because a white filling gets bonded to the tooth structure; but it can not be bonded to the silver filling. This would mean that at least one wall of the white filling would not be bonded to the tooth giving it less ability to stay in the tooth.
Unfortunately for now there is no good way to put a white filling over a silver filling (plus the silver filling would show through the white filling). Hope this helps.
My best to you!
William F. Scott IV, DMD
Putting a white filling (tooth colored filling) over a silver filling is a good idea; however, in practice it does not work out to well. A silver filling does not get bonded, cemented, or glued to the tooth. It goes in as a powder and hardens into a solid. At this point the silver filling is basically balanced in the tooth. A silver filling requires certain dimensions to remain balanced. In order to put a white filling over the silver filling, the silver filling would have to be shortened to make room for the white filling. This would change the size and shape of the silver filling losing its balance. Once this happens the white filling would then be unsupported and break off.
The second part of the failure for a white filling to stay over a silver filling is because a white filling gets bonded to the tooth structure; but it can not be bonded to the silver filling. This would mean that at least one wall of the white filling would not be bonded to the tooth giving it less ability to stay in the tooth.
Unfortunately for now there is no good way to put a white filling over a silver filling (plus the silver filling would show through the white filling). Hope this helps.
My best to you!
William F. Scott IV, DMD
