We’ve recently moved to a new city. My son needed a cavity filled. Our new dentist did a white filling. I was thrilled, but shocked. Our old dentist said children couldn’t have white fillings. He forced me to put the fillings loaded with mercury into his mouth. Now I find out he could have had white fillings. I’m kind of furious. Did he lie to me or was he just incompetent?
Meredith L.
Dear Meredith,
I can’t tell you the motivation behind him saying no to the white fillings with any real certainty, but I can give some possibilities.
- He doesn’t know how to do white fillings. If he’s an older dentist, it’s possible he only knows how to do the old amalgam (silver) fillings. Composite (white) fillings do not use the same procedure. If done incorrectly, it can lead to challenging complications.
- He knows how to do white fillings, but is uncomfortable placing white fillings on children. The procedure requires children to stay perfectly still. If the filling gets moisture it’s likely to fail, so even their tongue has to stay off of it.
- He’s been told it can’t be done on children. It’s possible when he learned how to do the fillings he was trained to think it’s only for adults.
It sounds like your new dentist is more up to date on procedures. He or she may even by a mercury-free dentist.This is a good thing for both you and your child.
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