Historical Dental Restorative Materials

Dental restorative materials are specially fabricated materials, designed for use as dental restorations (fillings). They are used to restore tooth structure loss, usually resulting from but not limited to dental caries (dental cavities). Traditional restorative materials used for dental restorations include the use of metallic compounds such as amalgam and gold, though the use of porcelain and glass ionomer cement provides more aesthetically improved features. A recently introduced material is composite resin, which is a mixture of glass and plastic resins that is made to resemble the appearance of the natural tooth. Composite resins are also known for to be strong, durable and cosmetically superior to silver or dark grey colored amalgam fillings.

However, aside from amalgam, gold, porcelain, or composite resins, there are other historical materials that have been used for dental restorations such as lead. According to cosmetic dentistry los angeles practitioners, lead fillings were used as early as the 1700s, although they quickly became unpopular in the 1800s because of their softness. This was before lead poisoning was understood.

Other Dental Restorative Materials or Fillings

According to American Civil War-era dental handbooks from the mid-1800s, metallic fillings had been used since the early 1800s. These early fillings were made of any one of these metals: lead, gold, tin, platinum, silver, aluminum, or amalgam. Back then, a pellet was rolled slightly larger than the cavity, condensed into place with instruments, then shaped and polished in the patient's mouth. It has been stated by cosmetic dentistry los angeles practitioners that gold foil was the most popular and preferred filling material during the Civil War. Tin and amalgam were also popular due to lower cost, but were held in lower regard.

One survey of dental practices in the mid-1800s catalogued dental fillings found in the remains of seven Confederate soldiers from the U.S. Civil War. They were made of:

*Gold foil: Preferred because of its durability and safety.

*Platinum: Was rarely used because it was too hard, inflexible and difficult to form into foil.

*Aluminum: A material which failed because of its lack of malleability but has been added to some amalgams.

*Tin and iron: Believed to have been a very popular filling material during the Civil War. Tin foil was recommended when a cheaper material than gold was requested by the patient. However, tin wore down rapidly and even if it could be replaced cheaply and quickly, there was a concern, specifically from Harris, that it would oxidize in the mouth and thus cause a recurrence of caries. Due to the blackening, tin was only recommended for posterior teeth.

*Thorium: Radioactivity was unknown at that time, and the dentist probably thought he was working with tin.

*Lead and tungsten mixture: Probably coming from shotgun pellets. According to cosmetic dentistry los angeles practitioners, lead was rarely used in the 19th century, it is soft and quickly worn down by mastication, and had known harmful health effects.

*Amalgam: The most popular amalgam was a mixture of silver, tin and mercury.