What does everyone think about fillings? More specififclly the ones that are metal or mercury, or whatever it is thats bad for you that they are made from. I have a bunch of fillings that are made out of this and i was just wondering if anyone knows if they really are bad for you? Is it worth getting them changed, i also grind my teeth at night which might break them down some and i would assume that i swallow the small parts i grind. I have heard all sorts of mixed opinions on this subject.
I write about this all the time. I had fibromyalgia symptoms for many years before I finally decided to remove my mercury fillings. I noticed the link to my problems when one tooth broke and exposed one mercury filling. My pains got much worse. I switched to white fillings. I believe they were porcelain inlays. I have had them for a little over 10 years with absolutely no problems.
I've recovered from most of the health problems that I used to have. I was told to not run more than a hundred yards in 1978 by a doctor and now run nearly 20 miles each week. Reportedly, thousands of people have said the same...that they noticed health improvements after these mercury fillings were removed.
There are many people (including dental associations) that believe these mercury fillings are safe. But for people like me, all the rhetoric in the world is never going to convince us. So, it's hard for a lot of people like you, to know who to believe or what to believe.
But these are the facts. If you have a lot of mercury fillings, you will be exposed to a significant amount of mercury, as this mercury constantly leaks from the amalgam. This mercury accumulates in the body, in places like the brain, liver and kidneys. So you have to ask yourself, do I want this extremely toxic poison to be there? And secondly, would I like a nicer cosmetic set of teeth or have metal fillings?
It's kind of interesting. We don't even have to discuss the health aspects of mercury fillings...just that do we want mercury or not...and do we want nicer prettier teeth or not? I suggest you look at porcelain, if you want to do a change over to nicer white teeth. It's a little more expensive, but I think it's better to get the best type of dental restoration material. Also getting the right dentist is so very important, so that it is done right. Make sure that this dentist also takes steps to protect you from the mercury filling pieces and vapor when the mercury fillings are removed.
If they're serving you well and you don't have any new decay between the fillings and your teeth then most people would leave them alone. They won't last forever and you'll have to do something with those teeth at some point.
Replacing them is nothing more than having the dentist drill out the old metal filling, any new decay that might be there, and filling the tooth again. All the usual risks associated with doing a deep filling for any reason apply.
Last edited by Doppler4000; 02-24-2004 at 04:40 PM.
From my own personal experience having the mercury fillings removed, it was not a complicated process. I would describe it more as an ordeal. I had to go in a multiple number of times to the office. There was just lots of drilling and drilling.... I had very little pain because my dentist was excellent about minimizing that. He always wanted to make sure that I had plenty of "numby juice". My dentist worked on my teeth, quadrant by quadrant. I had two of these mercury fillings per quadrant.
As far as being dangerous? Yes, there is some danger as the mercury is extremely toxic. The dentist must handle these amalgams in a special way. But, for most people, I would have to believe that the dangers are minimized by the precautions that the dentist take. I'd ask your dentist about what steps he or she would take to reduce the dangers. I had requested a dental dam, so I would not swallow any amalgam or mercury residue.
Some pro-amalgam people often mention the dangers of mercury being released during this change-over process, but I think there's more danger in leaving the fillings in the teeth over a long period of time. This is because the mercury accumulates in the body. There are many discussion about this, from people that believe that these mercury fillings are dangerous and others that do not believe that they are dangerous to one's health. I think it's a matter of discussing the mercury filling removal procedure with your dentist, to make sure that you are getting the very best in treatment.
For my health, it was the best thing that I could do. Knowing what I know now, there's no question that I did the right thing. I love my all-white teeth too.
From what i have been reading i am getting the feeling that it is a dangerous thing to get the fillings out becasue of the risk of lots of mercury vabors being inhaled.
Ok, seeing as how we're on the subject again, and I'm not due to see my dentist for three months and don't want to wait that long to ask this - what is the difference between mercury fillings and silver fillings, or are they one and the same? Someone on here awhile back said they were not. When you speak of mercury fillings and amalgam fillings, are these not the same thing? And are they not the same thing as when someone refers to 'silver' or metal fillings?
Ok, seeing as how we're on the subject again, and I'm not due to see my dentist for three months and don't want to wait that long to ask this - what is the difference between mercury fillings and silver fillings, or are they one and the same? Someone on here awhile back said they were not. When you speak of mercury fillings and amalgam fillings, are these not the same thing? And are they not the same thing as when someone refers to 'silver' or metal fillings?
Yep the same thing. They are just called silver fillings but they DO have up to 50% mercury in them.
i just got back from the dentist and he told me that there is no decay or anything and that the fillings are still in there solid so there is no need to have them romoved.
There was a time where dentists did believe that the amalgams were "solid", but it is now common knowledge that they are not. Some dentists may still erroneously believe that they are solid, if they haven't kept up with the latest scientific findings.
These dental amalgams continually leak mercury. It's an individual choice to keep these mercury amalgam fillings or not, but at least we hope that we have helped some of you with some information on the subject. Mercury accumulates from these amalgams, and it may be years in which you may or may not develop problems.
These problems are not quite understood for each individual, as there are many variables. It's still undergoing many studies worldwide. It's a risk that each of us takes. I can understand why someone would not change the fillings. But I had too much pain, to not have it done. For without this pain, I don't know if I would have had the courage to go to the dentist the number of times that I did. I guess I'll never know...for I went and had them all removed under circumstances that took me by surprise when my tooth broke and exposed that one dental amalgam....
I've had two of my amalgam fillings replaced about a couple weeks ago and haven't had any problems. The doc was familiar with the proper protocol to remove those fillings though. I have one more to go which I will have done in a couple weeks. I was scared too at first thinking about this over a year ago. I finally had enough courage to get it done and it wasn't as bad as I thought. It did take a while though for the whole procedure to be done.
