I recently had to take care of two small cavities.
Sitting in the chair, the dentist asked me "Ceramic, or silver?"
I initially said the white. He replied with "The silver is better. Lasts much longer. Ceramic is brittle. Plus, no one will see them on your top teeth."
So I changed my mind and went with his recommendation.
Turns out, "silver" actually means MERCURY.
Mercury is a neurotoxin.
Health Canada issued warnings against this type of mercury usage (read here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/merc-eng.php)
Not only is the use of mercury archaic, but this misinformation was very misleading and unprofessional.