I don’t want mercury in my mouth. I’ve been adamant with my dentist about this. He, however, insists he’s been using amalgam fillings for decades and has never had a problem. While that may be true (at least as far as he knows), I don’t want the mercury in my body. Is there any information you can give me to convince him to let me have the white fillings?
Cassie
Dear Cassie,
Truthfully, I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with this dentist. He’s one of the old-school dentists who feels because he’s always done it that way, it’s good enough. Plus, he has the American Dental Association (ADA) saying that amalgam fillings are perfectly safe, justifying his desire not to leave his comfort zone.
However, even if you could convince him, you wouldn’t want him to be the one to place your composite fillings. These require a different technique than their silver predecessor. If he doesn’t know the proper technique you’ll end up with a faulty filling.
Pressing a dentist into a procedure they don’t really know how to do will not work out well. Often, they’ll be too embarrassed to admit you’re asking for something they don’t know how to do. Instead, they’ll try to muddle through, pretending they know what they’re doing. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. Depending on the procedure, the patient may not even realize the problem was the dentist’s technique (or lack thereof).
You Need a Mercury-free Dentist
If you want mercury-free fillings, which is quite reasonable, your best option is to switch to a mercury-free dentist. They will only place white, composite fillings.
Another advantage is they will know how to do a sanitary amalgam removal. I don’t know if you currently have any silver fillings, but you can’t just remove and replace them. Without using the proper procedure, you will end up inhaling mercury vapors and/or swallowing bits of mercury during the removal process. Using special procedures, you’ll be safe from those issues.
You should know if you ever have to get a filling on a visible part of your tooth, the white composite fillings can be made to blend in with your tooth color perfectly. However, once it’s made, it can’t be changed. If you want to whiten your teeth, do so before the filling is made. That way it will match the whiter color.
This blog is brought to you by Auburn Family Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.
