White Fillings and Replacing Silver Fillings?

MichaelDunne85

Just a quick question on something that I wanted to know about. This isn't a vain thing by any means, I have several fillings I've had since I was younger, but I've read a lot about mercury poisoning and that silver fillings aren't good for you.

So does anyone know how much it costs for white fillings? And how much it costs to replace your silver fillings with them? Is it even worth it?

I suffer with anxiety, and especially health anxiety, so when I read about things like this, it makes me very paranoid about toxic stuff going in my body or if their is a better alternative. Surprisingly, I don't mind going to the dentist (I haven't been in over 2 years though...I know) but is it really worth it? And if I should need fillings in the future, should I get white from now on?

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Fishorsealant

Silver fillings are called amalgam fillings.
White fillings are called composite fillings.

There are certain situations where amalgam fillings are still the material of choice.

There is a lot of misconception about amalgam fillings and the fact that they contain mercury. Amalgam fillings are safe. The major concern these days is how the left over amalgam is disposed off and mainly environmental concerns regarding the material.

You shouldn't get your fillings replaced just for the sake of it.
If they have been there a very long time then you might consider having them replaced or if there is new decay under them or they have failed etc etc

You should be more concerned about visiting the dentist more regularly to ensure decay isn't recurring on the restored teeth and to prevent further decay than the filling being toxic to your health!

If you feel very concerned still consider asking your dentist about it at your next visit. They will have encountered patients with your concerns before.

Fishorsealant

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When you are replacing a filling you will also remove decay under it if present.
This could possibly lead to a pulp exposure removing the decay depending on the situation. This isn't always the case.

However there are lots of situations where you can replace the filling and remove the decay from the tooth. If you were to adopt your attitude and leave the decay there and not replace or fix a failed restoration you could eventually end up needing a root canal or extraction for that tooth and then having to replace teeth ! You are much better treating these problems early rather than waiting until they cause major problems down the line.

missyb01

My mother who is in her early 70s had huge silver fillings and hated how her teeth looked black so she had I think 5 filings replaced with white ones. She had no issues. After hers were done, I was impressed and decided that I would do the same with 2 particular fillings. Long story short, I went on to need 2 root canals, 2 crowns. 2 failed root canals and now I have one implant and 1 large gap!!! I wish I had left well enough alone.

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Dianthus

I've yet to meet a single patient who can name even one component of composite (the white/tooth coloured filling material).
Whereas the buzz word for amalgam is always mercury. It just rolls off the tongue far easier than some of the chemicals that comprise composite.
Then there's the psychological factor; automatically even from just a colour perspective, black=bad, white=good.

In general, if your fillings are intact, decay-free, functional,& asymotomatic- leave well enough alone. Your tooth material is finite; the enamel alone is only 2mm! Every time a filling is replaced, you create an inherent trauma to the tooth; in the case of a deep filling, you can end up tipping the balance towards a root canal treatment (as a previous poster outlined).

You'll find there's mercury in oily fish as well!