Silver (Amalgam) Filling: This traditional material is a very effective, durable and strong material.

1. Painful, leaking, old filling

2. After restoration with silver filling

1. Old broken filling

2. After restoration with silver filling

Some of the many drawbacks include:

• Contains mercury
• Not aesthetic
• Does not stick to teeth, and therefore have to prepare a tooth more to enable it to hold the filling.

White fillings or even crowns may (in certain circumstances) be used as an alternative to silver fillings.