Abstract

When posterior teeth, premolars and molars, develop significant carious lesions, they need to be treated through caries removal and placement of restorations. Currently, there are two widely used direct restorative materials, amalgam and resin composite, that are used by dentists globally for this purpose. However, over the last decade there has been a significant increase in the utilization of resin composite restorations on the expense of amalgam. A number of reasons led to this trend. While amalgam has been utilized by the profession as a long-lasting direct restorative material for over a century [1], however, recently there have been several concerns about its mercury content, color and restoration failures. While some amalgam restorations maintain their shiny silver appearance over the years (Figure 1), others undergo significant corrosion [2] with subsequent darkening of the restoration (Figure 2). Furthermore, the fact that there is a viable competitor, resin composite, that matches the natural color of the teeth, is a good reason for the shift. The majority of young adults of the current generation prefer to have their teeth restored with indistinguishable materials. Therefore, esthetics are a major driving force in this respect. Resin composite restorations can match the natural color of the teeth with a high level of accuracy (Figure 3). There use by dentists in North America has been constantly on the rise [3,4].