From The Other Side Of The Drill: I love… GOLD!
Me: With platinum and diamonds trendy of late, what’s the best material, from your point of view, to put in my mouth?
My Dentist (and lovely wife), Melynda: Almost any material used today in dentistry is fantastic. Gold is probably one of the best materials you can put in your mouth. It has very nearly the same hardness as your teeth. This is in contrast to porcelin, for example, which is more abrasive than natural teeth and has the potential to wear away your natural teeth if they oppose each other.
On the other hand, most people FAR prefer the look of porcelin in their mouth to the look of gold. (Refrain from making gold tooth jokes, please.) Particularly in the front teeth! Gold has its negative qualities as well, mainly being much more operator-sensitive and more time consuming. A gold filling is created by a lab, in a similar manner to a crown, and thus takes at least two appointments. For this reason, most patients and dentists opt for traditional amalgam (silver) or composite (white) fillings that can be placed quickly in a single appointment. Both are excellent restorative materials, by the way.
Do you have a question for our dentist? Submit it to Tips with “dentist?” in the subject line.
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POSTED IN: From the Other Side of the Drill, Misc., Treatment, Your Body
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