close Amalgam Most of us have a few of these silver fillings on our back teeth. For a cost effective long term restoration for back teeth, this material has one of the longest proven track records. It is also one of the most resistant materials to recurrent decay. Amalgam restorations are a mixture of mostly silver, mercury, and copper. Please check out our dental material fact sheet for recomendations on all of the materials we use in our office. If you are still concerned with the placement of mercury fillings in your mouth we would recommend either porcelain or gold restorations. If esthetics is not a concern and your budget is, this is a good treatment option.