Author: Anthony Mikalauskas
SILVER, SIMPLIFIED
Nano Silver vs.
Colloidal Silver
What is the difference, and why does size matter?
The short answer: “Colloidal” tells us that tiny particles are floating in a liquid. “Nano” tells us
that the particles are extremely small. A nanosilver liquid can also be a type of colloidal silver.
Meet the Tiny Silver Team
Silver is a shiny metal used in jewelry, coins, electronics, and some medical products. When very
tiny pieces of silver are mixed into a liquid, the mixture is often called colloidal silver.
Think about a snow globe. The “snow” floats around in the water for a while. In a silver liquid, the
floating pieces are far too small to see with your eyes, but the basic idea is similar.
What Does “Colloidal” Mean?
A colloid is a mixture in which very small particles are spread through another material. Milk, fog,
and gelatin are everyday examples of colloids.
Some older silver liquids contained particles of different sizes. Larger particles could clump
together or settle toward the bottom. That is one reason some products needed shaking before
use.
Kitchen example: Fresh orange juice with pulp may settle if it sits still. Shake the bottle, and
the pulp spreads out again. Silver particles are much smaller than orange pulp, but settling can
happen in some mixtures for a similar reason.
What Does “Nano” Mean?
The word nano means extremely small. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. That is so tiny that
you would need special equipment to see it.
For a fun comparison, imagine cutting one meter into one billion equal pieces. A single piece would
be one nanometer. Tiny is almost an understatement!
Nano silver contains silver particles measured on this very small scale. Scientists can change the
particles’ size, shape, coating, and surface. Those details affect how the particles behave.
So, Are They Really Opposites?
Not exactly. “Colloidal silver” and “nano silver” are not always two completely separate things.
Here is the easy way to remember it:
Colloidal Small particles are spread through a liquid.
Nano The particles are extremely small - usually measured in nanome
Building-block example: “Colloidal” is like saying the blocks are floating in a bowl. “Nano” is
like telling us how tiny each block is. One describes the mixture; the other describes the size.
Why Particle Size Can Matter
Very small particles have more surface area compared with their size. More surface is available to
touch the material around them. This can change how silver reacts and how quickly it releases
silver ions.
Picture one big ice cube and a cup of crushed ice. The crushed ice usually melts faster because
more of it touches the warm air and drink. Tiny silver particles can also behave differently from
larger pieces because more surface is exposed.
However, smaller does not automatically mean safer or better. The dose, coating, shape, product
quality, and way the product is used all matter.
What Silver Can Do
Silver can slow or damage certain microbes under the right conditions. That is why silver is used in
some wound dressings, medical devices, surface coatings, and other specially designed products.
Silver has been used for millennia.
• Silver ions and silver nanoparticles inhibit MRSA growth
• Silver can reduce MRSA biofilms (a major factor in chronic and device-related infections)
• Silver often remains effective against strains resistant to multiple antibiotics
Nano Silver at the Dentist
Nano silver is being studied as a helper inside specially designed dental materials. Its main job is to
make it harder for certain bacteria and fungi to grow. This matters because germs can hide in
plaque, around braces, under dentures, beside fillings, and inside root canals.
• Fillings and bonding materials: Adding tiny amounts of silver nanoparticles to some
composites and adhesives may slow cavity-causing bacteria and biofilm near the edge of a
restoration. That may help reduce the chance of a new cavity forming around an existing filling.
• Root canal treatment: Researchers have tested nano-silver rinses, silver-coated gutta-percha,
and silver added to mineral trioxide aggregate. These materials may improve antimicrobial
activity inside the tooth while maintaining useful sealing and strength properties.
• Braces and orthodontics: Nano silver can be added to certain adhesives, wires, brackets, or
elastic materials to make it harder for plaque bacteria to stick and grow around braces.
• Dentures: Silver nanoparticles in some denture acrylics may reduce bacteria and Candida, a
fungus linked with denture-related irritation. Some studies also report improvements in
material strength or heat transfer, depending on the formula.
• Implants and gum care: Silver-containing coatings and membranes are being studied to help
control bacteria around implants and during periodontal treatment. Some experimental
dressings have also been studied for wound healing.
How Nano Silver May Help Protect Enamel
Enamel is the hard outer shield of a tooth. Bacteria in plaque eat sugars and release acids. Those
acids pull minerals from enamel. If this happens again and again, a chalky white spot or a cavity
can form.
Nano silver may help enamel indirectly by lowering the number or activity of certain cavity-causing
bacteria and by making biofilm harder to build on treated dental materials. Around braces, this may
help reduce white spot lesions. Around fillings, it may help lower the risk of decay beginning at tiny
gaps along the filling's edge.
• Helps limit certain cavity-causing bacteria under the right conditions.
• May slow plaque biofilm on specially designed dental materials.
• May reduce acid-producing bacterial activity near brackets, wires, adhesives, and fillings.
• Can help with enamel remineralization and even reverse tooth sensitivity including cases that
are as extreme as hypersensitivity.
Important enamel truth: Nano silver is not proven to regrow enamel by itself. To be clear, putting
silver in a petri dish will not grow enamel. However, there have been cases where even
hypersensitivity has been reversed with nano-silver.
Quick Quiz
1. What does “colloidal” describe?
Answer: A mixture with tiny particles spread through a liquid.
2. What does “nano” describe?
Answer: An extremely small particle size.
3. Does smaller always mean safer?
Answer: No. Size is only one part of safety.
4. Why might crushed ice melt faster than one big cube?
Answer: It has more surface touching the warmer surroundings.
5. How may nano silver help protect enamel?
Answer: Mainly by helping control certain bacteria and biofilm that produce enamel-damaging
acids.
6. Does nano silver rebuild enamel by itself?
Answer: No. you cannot put silver alone and grow enamel. You will need already existing enamel for this type of remineralization.
Sources and Further Reading
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Colloidal Silver: What You Need To Know.”
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/colloidal-silver-what-you-need-to-know
• Ferdous, Z., and Nemmar, A. “Health Impact of Silver Nanoparticles: A Review of the Biodistribution and
Toxicity Following Various Routes of Exposure.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2020.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32235542/
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Material Performance Study - Silver.” 2021.
https://www.fda.gov/media/155401/download
• Original source adapted and corrected for readability: Silver Solution USA LLC. “The New and Improved Nano
Silver Technology vs Colloidal Silver.”
• Yin, I. X., Zhang, J., Zhao, I. S., Mei, M. L., Li, Q., and Chu, C. H. "The Antibacterial Mechanism of
Silver Nanoparticles and Its Application in Dentistry." International Journal of Nanomedicine,
2020;15:2555-2562. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S246764