Tooth fillings are carried out to replace hard tooth substance which has been lost (for example, due to tooth decay or broken teeth). There is a range of different techniques available. For many years, the material of choice was dental amalgam, composed largely of silver, and, more significantly, mercury! There is still a great deal of discussion as to whether amalgam is damaging to health and might be the reason behind migraine and other illnesses. It may be an indication of the poisonous effect of amalgam alloys that current waste disposal regulations in Germany demand that dentists dispose of discarded amalgam fillings as hazardous waste!

For this reason, in our practice we have discontinued the use of amalgam as filling material.

All the fillings we provide are made of alternative filling materials, of which two are available. Firstly, there is a high-grade adhesive nanohybrid composite with a high proportion of ceramic filling material (around 85%). Such materials are generally familiar as  plastic tooth colour-matching fillings. Provided that these are done carefully enough, they compare well with amalgam fillings in terms of durability. Since they involve more work and are also more expensive than amalgam, the cost of ceramic fillings is not fully covered by the non-private health insurance programmes here in Germany.

As an alternative which is covered 100% by the German non-private health insurance providers you can have fillings made of light-hardening plastic with no high ceramic content and coloured to match your teeth. This kind of filling can be done faster, but does not provide the same quality in terms of durability and aesthetic outcome.