Asked for white fillings - got silver ones

Hi Folks,

Looking to see if anyone can help here. Having an issue with smiles. Had a quick consultation with dentist about a week ago. Wanted white fillings and a general check up.

We had a whole big conversation about silver fillings being a bit dated and do people still use them much etc. And white look much cleaner and nicer and yada yada yada.

Anyway, got a filling done on the back upper left, was charged for a white filling (they seem to charge €120 for white composite and €90 for silver metal).

Didnt really inspect it as its an awkward location. Went back today to get another filling replaced, this time on the bottom right, close to the front. Got home and, this one being much easier to see, noticed it was clearly silver.

Took a deeper look and seen that my other white filling is actually also silver.

Rang them about it, and girl on the phone pretty much fobbed me off, saying theyd need my consent to put a white filling in, and as they didn't have that in writing (they never asked) they could only install silver ones as those are all that was necessary to deal with tooth decay, and in order to avoid overcharging patients in general, they never install white by default.

Again, though, in the first consultation, I made it clear I wanted white. The whole purpose of going to the dentist was to replace the silver with white.


I dont deal with dentists very often so not sure what the general approach is here or how to best deal with it.

Is anyone able to push me in the right direction. Naturally, I'm not entirely pleased with how things are going.

Thank you all.

Dianthus

Book an appointment to meet the dentist directly to discuss.

Not really a solution.


Edit: that was intended for a post that has since been removed.

Dianthus

Dianthus wrote: »

Book an appointment to meet the dentist directly to discuss.

How does this generally work? Dentist will obviously know I'm looking to complain, and what it is I'm looking to complain about?

Would I just ask the receptionist to talk to the dentist or would I be met with resistance along the way.

Fitz II

Dianthus wrote: »

Book an appointment to meet the dentist directly to discuss.

100% this. Dentists are professionals, say you wanted a white filling, listen to any reasons that you didnt get one, and come to a solution that is satisfactory. No need to beat around the bush by either party.

Homelander

Do many dentists even do silver fillings anymore? I'm in my 30's and I never had a silver filling, they were always white by default, even dating back 14 odd years. I never once had to specify.

jrosen

The receptionist charges based on what your file says, so if you were charged for a white filling then your file said the dentist did a white filling.

Call back and double check the prices of fillings.

The make an app to see the dentist. You can hash it out with him/her while you are there.

Dianthus

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How does this generally work? Dentist will obviously know I'm looking to complain, and what it is I'm looking to complain about?
Would I just ask the receptionist to talk to the dentist or would I be met with resistance along the way.

Why would you be met with resistance? You have an issue, it needs to be resolved, & the most straightforward way is to meet directly with the source. It's a 10 minute chat.

Dianthus

Dianthus wrote: »

Why would you be met with resistance? You have an issue, it needs to be resolved, & the most straightforward way is to meet directly with the source. It's a 10 minute chat.

I just assume the dentist would roll his eyes - he can presumably get a few fee-paying patients in, instead of listening to a previous patient come in and moan at him.

I just presumed they'd try to get rid of me and my complaining, rather than have to suffer through entertaining me (that's assuming they're unwilling to help, though).


Would it be, in this situation, reasonable to ask them to offer some 'goodwill' in relation to the price of a white filling? (in other words, I'm not happy with the silver, but I don't want to go down and have to pay full price for a white filling to replace the silver fillings I only just got).


Or would that be met with me being laughed off the phone? (obviously if they won't budge and I have to replace at full cost, I'll just go elsewhere and someone else will become my dentist)

Dianthus

That's a lot of assumptions there, you might be surprised when you open up the conversation.
You're a fee paying patient as much as anyone else, & you need to be happy& have clarity.
Best discussed face to face as can read body language & explain by demonstrating clinically.
Book in for a quick chat, explain everything as you did in your OP, & you can both decide together what the next step should be.

Pistachio19

You told the dentist you wanted white fillings and you say you paid for white fillings. So what the dentist needs to do is replace both fillings with white ones without charge. Ring again tomorrow, ask for the dentist to return your call and tell him you want both redone in white, as originally requested.

Yyhhuuu

Not to mention the long term risk to health and the environment from Mercury (amalgam) fillings.

This is a matter of consent. Was there or was there not consent given?

If I was dissatisfied with professionalism of any particular Dentist I would make a complaint in writing to the Dental Council.

Many dentists I met are very motivated by money. Their fees are very expensive relative to their counterparts abroad.

After paying a fortune for a procedure one dentists receptionist wanted me to pay €2 for a toothbrush. Needless to say one would have expected it as a goodwill gesture considering my custom. It had been given to other customers.

After all my custom the dentist in question said I needed teeth cleaning ( scale and polish). He said there was plaque build up. I omitted to tell him that I had had my teeth cleaned with another dentist practice ONE MONTH AGO. Therefore I came to conclusions he was lying about the plaque issue just to extract more money. He has a large practice with a lot of overheads.

I had to laugh his receptionist was wearing a plastic visor with no face mask and she was complaining about people outside not wearing face masks.

I'd be so grateful if anybody recommended a good dentist in uk or abroad for a crown. I could make a holiday out of it instead of lining the pockets of greedy Irish dentists.

Fitz II

I am a greedy Irish dentist, and I definitely recommend you go abroad.

AutoTuning

I’d be pretty annoyed about that. It happened to my mother a couple of years ago too. She would have been extremely cosmetically focused when it came to her teeth and she went to a new dentist who said she had to change a filling and without discussion put a silver one in, when she had previously gone to huge effort and expense to have them all changed to composites.

To say she was furious would be an understatement.

Seems some dentists still have strong preferences for amalgam fillings, while others no longer use them.

Dav010

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

After paying a fortune for a procedure one dentists receptionist wanted me to pay €2 for a toothbrush......

After all my custom the dentist in question said I needed teeth cleaning ( scale and polish). He said there was plaque build up. I omitted to tell him that I had had my teeth cleaned with another dentist practice ONE MONTH AGO.
.

Sounds like the €2 would have been money well spent.

893bet

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Not to mention the long term risk to health and the environment from Mercury (amalgam) fillings.

This is a matter of consent. Was there or was there not consent given?

If I was dissatisfied with professionalism of any particular Dentist I would make a complaint in writing to the Dental Council.

Many dentists I met are very motivated by money. Their fees are very expensive relative to their counterparts abroad.

After paying a fortune for a procedure one dentists receptionist wanted me to pay €2 for a toothbrush. Needless to say one would have expected it as a goodwill gesture considering my custom. It had been given to other customers.

After all my custom the dentist in question said I needed teeth cleaning ( scale and polish). He said there was plaque build up. I omitted to tell him that I had had my teeth cleaned with another dentist practice ONE MONTH AGO. Therefore I came to conclusions he was lying about the plaque issue just to extract more money. He has a large practice with a lot of overheads.

I had to laugh his receptionist was wearing a plastic visor with no face mask and she was complaining about people outside not wearing face masks.

I'd be so grateful if anybody recommended a good dentist in uk or abroad for a crown. I could make a holiday out of it instead of lining the pockets of greedy Irish dentists.

You ever manage to get the Rolex?

Yyhhuuu

AutoTuning wrote: »

I’d be pretty annoyed about that. It happened to my mother a couple of years ago too. She would have been extremely cosmetically focused when it came to her teeth and she went to a new dentist who said she had to change a filling and without discussion put a silver one in, when she had previously gone to huge effort and expense to have them all changed to composites.

To say she was furious would be an understatement.

Seems some dentists still have strong preferences for amalgam fillings, while others no longer use them.

Whilst amalgam fillings have a long track record in dentistry many dentists no longer use them due to environmental issues and the release of mercury

Yyhhuuu

Dav010 wrote: »

Sounds like the €2 would have been money well spent.

Not when I can buy a good toothbrush for less than €1 elsewhere. Btw my teeth are in excellent condition apart from one requiring a crown. Dentistry and medicine is in my family. I take great care of my teeth.

Dav010

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Whilst amalgam fillings have a long track record in dentistry many dentists no longer use them due to environmental issues and the release of mercury

Many dentists no longer use them because they have been superseded by aesthetically better and more technologically advanced filling materials. As a result, there is more demand for white fillings, less for amalgams which are becoming obsolete. I still have mine though and I have been a dentist for 25 years.

Incidentally, all dentists are required by law to have amalgam separators on suction units, none of it goes into the environment. The waste is taken away by licensed disposal companies, it’s one of those overheads you referred to.

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Not when I can buy a good toothbrush for less than €1 elsewhere. Btw my teeth are in excellent condition apart from one requiring a crown. Dentistry and medicine is in my family. I take great care of my teeth.

Medicine/engineering/hotel management is in my family, that doesn’t mean I am healthier/can build a bridge/run a hotel because of it though.

Yyhhuuu

Dav010 wrote: »

Many dentists no longer use them because they have been superseded by aesthetically better and more technologically advanced filling materials. As a result, there is more demand for white fillings, less for amalgams which are becoming obsolete. I still have mine though and I have been a dentist for 25 years.

Incidentally, all dentists are required by law to have amalgam separators on suction units, none of it goes into the environment. The waste is taken away by licensed disposal companies, it’s one of those overheads you referred to.



Medicine/engineering/hotel management is in my family, that doesn’t mean I am healthier/can build a bridge/run a hotel because of it though.

There is the issue of the release of mercury in to the body each time an amalgam filling is brushed etc. Incidentally it was a dentist who mentioned to me the issue effecting the environment of mercury fillings.

Furthermore mercury is released in to the air and soil from the cremation or burial of those with amalgam fillings. This is environmental pollution.Not all dental practice worldwide would be as conscientious or have as apparently stringent legislation or regulations re mercury disposal.I also was informed that amalgam fillings are more long lasting than composite white filling. If this is the case it doesnt seem white fillings are that technologically advanced than amalgam as regards their longevity or durability. Amalgam has stood the test of time as regards durability. I recall watching a programme 20 years ago where an eminent U.S. dentist said he had all of his amalgam fillings removed due to the mercury therein. This is old news at this stage.

It would appear to me that a patient who consents or instructs their a dental practitioner to place a white filling can not have it unilaterally substituted with an amalgam filling. This is most unprofessional. Naturally it should have been discussed with the patient. If I were in this position I would lodge a formal complaint.

Dav010

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

There is the issue of the release of mercury in to the body each time an amalgam filling is brushed etc. Incidentally it was a dentist who mentioned to me the issue effecting the environment of mercury fillings.

Furthermore mercury is released in to the air and soil from the cremation or burial of those with amalgam fillings. This is environmental pollution.Not all dental practice worldwide would be as conscientious or have as apparently stringent legislation or regulations re mercury disposal.I also was informed that amalgam fillings are more long lasting than composite white filling. If this is the case it doesnt seem white fillings are that technologically advanced than amalgam as regards their longevity or durability. Amalgam has stood the test of time as regards durability. I recall watching a programme 20 years ago where an eminent U.S. dentist said he had all of his amalgam fillings removed due to the mercury therein. This is old news at this stage.

It would appear to me that a patient who consents or instructs their a dental practitioner to place a white filling can not have it unilaterally substituted with an amalgam filling. This is most unprofessional. Naturally it should have been discussed with the patient. If I were in this position I would lodge a formal complaint.

The last paragraph is indisputable.

The durability/longevity of amalgams is precisely the reason why such an ugly filling material is still in use. There are clinical situations, depending on the condition and load baring requirement, where amalgam is more suited/superior to composite in the restoration of teeth, ironically, as a support for a crown is one of them. Restricting filling materials by banning amalgam, or indeed choosing not to use it, can mean that the patient has no option but to accept an inferior restoration which is clinically unsuitable for the problem. That most certainly is not in the patient’s best interest.

In relation to mercury intake from fillings, there have been thousands of studies, but no conclusive data in relation to therapeutic levels and harmful effects. Too much of anything, including water can harm you, but that does not mean that in most cases it is dangerous to drink it. The gold standard is a study done by the FDA/EPA in the US during the noughties, google is your friend. It is also worth considering that because it is relatively new technology, we do not yet know the effects the ingredients of composite fillings have on the body.

In relation to burials/cremations, I think when you get to the stage of worrying about that, nothing is going to allay your concerns. Personally, I would be more concerned about pollution associated with vehicles and industry, but I still drive my car and post on boards on my iPhone.