19 Fillings am i being paranoid to want them out?

Question

I got sick (a lot of anxiety) ever since i got 15 fillings "silver" put in my mouth should i be concerned?

Answer 1

Silver Amalgam is the most commonly used material in the restoration of decayed teeth in the world. Today researchers know that there is no known statistical difference in the health status of persons with amalgam fillings compared to those with no fillings in their teeth.
Disadvantage:
Silver amalgam's main disadvantage is its appearance in the teeth. It tends to be gray or black.
Advantages:
The advantages to metallic fillings are that they are incredibly durable, not likely to break, and last a LONG time.
In conclusion, there is really no point to replace the silver filling if the esthetics is of major concern. But beware! Every time you remove one filling and put another in its place, you run the risk of killing the nerve of the tooth and then needing a root canal or extraction! Remember that the presence of mercury in amalgams is NOT considered a sufficient reason to replace them, and no dentist should ever recommend replacing yours on the basis of "mercury poisoning"

Answer 2

It is best to wait until a patient is an adult before doing a crown (cap) for a tooth. This is why they never did one for the tooth you had root canaled in 6th or 7th grade. Once a tooth has had a root canal, it is a lot more likely to break than a tooth that has not had a root canal. This is the reason for recommendind crowns (caps). If you are good about taking care of your teeth, there's no reason why having crowns should cause bad breath or infections. Keep in mind, that if you don't get the crowns (caps), it is entirely possible for you to break the tooth in such a way that the dentist won't be able to save it later. I know it is a lot of money right now, but I promise if you put it off, it will end up costing you more money in the long run. Might be next month, next year, or 10 years from now, but eventually those teeth will break. The dentist probably said he'd see if he could get away with not doing crowns right NOW to try to save you some money, but I'm sure he'll want to crown them eventually.

Answer 3

Unless the fillings have pulled away from the margin and there is evidence of recurring decay, disturbing a tooth is not usually a good idea as stated above.

Personally, the only way I'd replace a big amalgam filling is with a bonded onlay or inlay, done either by CAD/CAM or a superior lab. Pricey, but that would be my choice to get rid of the metalic look if $$$ was not a concern.

Answer 4

I agree with angela 100%. The only other diasadvantage of alloy (silver fillings) is expansion and contraction. Alloy tends to expand and contract. Over time and especially if the fillings are large, this can cause cracks and fratures in the teeth. Please note that to date the average alloy still outlasts the current resins (tooth colored fillings). As for the mercury, there is a minute amount in the silver fillings but not enough to cause problems. Too much of anything would be bad but there simply isn't enough mercury even in 32 alloys to cause problems. There tends to be more mercury in seafood than there is in alloy. Secondly if the mercury in alloy was unhealthy, we dentists would have the most symptoms since we work with the material daily. Other thing to note, there is no advantage to a dentist telling you a silver filling is perfect, but there is an advantage to a dentist telling you they are bad...Those white fiilings cost more and don't last as long.

Answer 5

Silver isn't bad for you, but it's unsightly. I had one filling replaced with white resin and it is much more sensitive to hot and cold than the silver was. So I had the rest of them replaced with CEREC. Usually you shouldn't disturb a silver filling if there's nothing wrong with it, but CEREC is more of a permanent restoration. It was pricey, but the best thing I ever did.

Keep the silver for a while and see how it works for you. If you're still bothered, look into something else.

Answer 6

I don't like silver fillings because they are not bonded into the tooth like the composite fillings are so there is room for bacteria to get under them and brew some more decay. That's just my personal opinion though