Should I have my (mercury) amalgam fillings removed?

[BangkokHank]

I have had (mercury) amalgam fillings in several of my teeth since my youth. I have been reading lately about the dangers of having mercury fillings in one's teeth. I am visiting Chiang Mai now, and I passed by a dental clinic that seems to be very experienced in removing such fillings and replacing them with "composite resin" fillings. Their brochure says that they use oxygen supplementation, a negative pressure treatment room, etc., which gives me the impression that they know what they're doing. However, I had a brief pre-procedure consultation with one of the young dentists there (not the one who would do the actual procedure), and he said that since my amalgam fillings are still in perfect condition, he doesn't think I need to have the procedure done. I also just read that these "composite resin" fillings only last for 5-10 years (whereas my amalgam fillings have been going strong for 50 years).

 

The only reason I would consider having this done is because I don't think that anyone benefits from having mercury in their mouth. But I also wonder if it is without risk to have my fillings removed/replaced? Or is it better to just leave things as they are? I suppose it is possible that I am and have been suffering from negative consequences from my mercury fillings for all of my life. (For example, I have suffered from fatigue for most of my life, but maybe that is completely unrelated to the mercury fillings - or not.)

 

Does anybody have any knowledge of/experience with this procedure? Would you have it done if you had known then what you know now? Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Will B Good]

I'm half way through............. had six removed four more to go....not happy with them or their appearance.

 

I was a victim at 13 of the Australian Trench.......no fillings at 12 years old.....12 fillings when I was 13, all done in one summer.

 

Some moron decided to reward dentists by paying them per filling......so the unethical ********** filled every tooth they could and made a fortune.

[Nick Carter icp]

3 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

I'm half way through............. had six removed four more to go....not happy with them or their appearance.

 

I was a victim at 13 of the Australian Trench.......no fillings at 12 years old.....12 fillings when I was 13, all done in one summer.

 

Some moron decided to reward dentists by paying them per filling......so the unethical ********** filled every tooth they could and made a fortune.

 

   Is your Wife doing the fillings for you ?

[scubascuba3]

Yes, swap them, it's cheap

[Will B Good]

4 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Is your Wife doing the fillings for you ?

 

No, oddly enough.

 

I very well appointed, quite new dentistry in York.....they also organised a double osteotomy to remove teeth still inside the jaw....which was quite traumatic....thanks for asking.

[The Fugitive]

19 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

I'm half way through............. had six removed four more to go....not happy with them or their appearance.

 

I was a victim at 13 of the Australian Trench.......no fillings at 12 years old.....12 fillings when I was 13, all done in one summer.

 

Some moron decided to reward dentists by paying them per filling......so the unethical ********** filled every tooth they could and made a fortune.

United Kingdom National Health Service dentists have been doing this for decades. Many reported cases along the years of unnecessary fillings in children. Used to be free treatment until age 21. Now up to 18 or 19 if in full time education. One dentist I went to had a yacht in the Bahamas.

[Hummin]

I wouldn't think twice if I didnt had any issues and the fillings was in place as it should be, but some think it will improve their health, so? Why not if you believe.

 

My brother removed all of them, and it didnt change any of his issues, except temporary because he believed strongly that was the reason for his fatigue and headache.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, The Fugitive said:

United Kingdom National Health Service dentists have been doing this for decades. Many reported cases along the years of unnecessary fillings in children. Used to be free treatment until age 21. Now up to 18 or 19 if in full time education. One dentist I went to had a yacht in the Bahamas.

 

Absolutely criminal.

[connda]

I would.  I don't have any mercury amalgams in my mouth anymore. 

[connda]

24 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Yes, swap them, it's cheap

Ditto.

[jaywalker2]

36 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

I have had (mercury) amalgam fillings in several of my teeth since my youth. I have been reading lately about the dangers of having mercury fillings in one's teeth. I am visiting Chiang Mai now, and I passed by a dental clinic that seems to be very experienced in removing such fillings and replacing them with "composite resin" fillings. Their brochure says that they use oxygen supplementation, a negative pressure treatment room, etc., which gives me the impression that they know what they're doing. However, I had a brief pre-procedure consultation with one of the young dentists there (not the one who would do the actual procedure), and he said that since my amalgam fillings are still in perfect condition, he doesn't think I need to have the procedure done. I also just read that these "composite resin" fillings only last for 5-10 years (whereas my amalgam fillings have been going strong for 50 years).

 

The only reason I would consider having this done is because I don't think that anyone benefits from having mercury in their mouth. But I also wonder if it is without risk to have my fillings removed/replaced? Or is it better to just leave things as they are? I suppose it is possible that I am and have been suffering from negative consequences from my mercury fillings for all of my life. (For example, I have suffered from fatigue for most of my life, but maybe that is completely unrelated to the mercury fillings - or not.)

 

Does anybody have any knowledge of/experience with this procedure? Would you have it done if you had known then what you know now? Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I was thinking of having the same thing done and my dentist advised against it, which I found somewhat strange, since dentists in Thailand are more than happy to earn extra money. But he said it would be costly and time consuming and it was unnecessary. Previously, I had voiced concern when a dentist wanted to put in an amalgam filling because of the mercury issue and she told me it was perfectly safe and the filling would be cheaper and last longer, it was the best choice (other than gold).

 

Most dentists will tell you mercury fillings are safe while most holistic medicine purveyors will tell you they're poison. As far as I've been able to ascertain, the amount of mercury in fillings is very small and well under FDA guidelines for mercury exposure. The mercury blood level of people with amalgam fillings does seem to be a bit higher than with people who don't have them but it doesn't exceed what you're exposed naturally anyway.

 

So I decided not to bother to have them changed. Of course, I absolutely loathe dentists so that was also a consideration.

[nglodnig]

44 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

United Kingdom National Health Service dentists have been doing this for decades. Many reported cases along the years of unnecessary fillings in children. Used to be free treatment until age 21. Now up to 18 or 19 if in full time education. One dentist I went to had a yacht in the Bahamas.

Happened to me too - went to a new dentist in the UK  (having had a checkup less than year ago with a different dentist and told everything fine) and he  happily gave me half-a-dozen UNNECESSARY fillings. I was 15 and the treatment was free.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, BangkokHank said:

But I also wonder if it is without risk to have my fillings removed/replaced?

 

When you remove them, then you will likely swallow some of that metal. At least that is what a dentist explained to me some time ago.

 

In general, I think the most important issue is, don't mix any metals. Don't have gold and amalgam in your mouth! If you have that, then you can measure with a simple multimeter a voltage between the different metals. Not good!

 

I had my amalgam removed and replaced with gold inlays a long time ago. That was expensive but mostly the gold inlays are still in my mouth. Now with new fillings the doctor uses plastic (not sure if that is the correct term) or ceramic. 

I won't accept amalgam under any circumstances - see above. 

 

[sherwood]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

When you remove them, then you will likely swallow some of that metal. At least that is what a dentist explained to me some time ago.

 

In general, I think the most important issue is, don't mix any metals. Don't have gold and amalgam in your mouth! If you have that, then you can measure with a simple multimeter a voltage between the different metals. Not good!

 

I had my amalgam removed and replaced with gold inlays a long time ago. That was expensive but mostly the gold inlays are still in my mouth. Now with new fillings the doctor uses plastic (not sure if that is the correct term) or ceramic. 

I won't accept amalgam under any circumstances - see above. 

 

Spit, don't swallow.

[safarimike11]

4 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Is your Wife doing the fillings for you ?

I see a possibility of a reply to this, but I shall abstain.

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Spit, don't swallow.

His last words? 

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

When you remove them, then you will likely swallow some of that metal. At least that is what a dentist explained to me some time ago.

 

In general, I think the most important issue is, don't mix any metals. Don't have gold and amalgam in your mouth! If you have that, then you can measure with a simple multimeter a voltage between the different metals. Not good!

 

I had my amalgam removed and replaced with gold inlays a long time ago. That was expensive but mostly the gold inlays are still in my mouth. Now with new fillings the doctor uses plastic (not sure if that is the correct term) or ceramic. 

I won't accept amalgam under any circumstances - see above. 

 

I don't think there are any dentists nowadays who use amalgam, although I am willing to stand corrected.

 

I have not had an amalgam filling for 20 years.

[Will B Good]

4 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

I was thinking of having the same thing done and my dentist advised against it, which I found somewhat strange, since dentists in Thailand are more than happy to earn extra money. But he said it would be costly and time consuming and it was unnecessary. Previously, I had voiced concern when a dentist wanted to put in an amalgam filling because of the mercury issue and she told me it was perfectly safe and the filling would be cheaper and last longer, it was the best choice (other than gold).

 

Most dentists will tell you mercury fillings are safe while most holistic medicine purveyors will tell you they're poison. As far as I've been able to ascertain, the amount of mercury in fillings is very small and well under FDA guidelines for mercury exposure. The mercury blood level of people with amalgam fillings does seem to be a bit higher than with people who don't have them but it doesn't exceed what you're exposed naturally anyway.

 

So I decided not to bother to have them changed. Of course, I absolutely loathe dentists so that was also a consideration.

 

I read somewhere that the risks are in removal of the fillings and the biggest risk is to the dentist .....not overly convinced by that though.

[MarkBR]

4 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

I was thinking of having the same thing done and my dentist advised against it, which I found somewhat strange, since dentists in Thailand are more than happy to earn extra money. But he said it would be costly and time consuming and it was unnecessary. Previously, I had voiced concern when a dentist wanted to put in an amalgam filling because of the mercury issue and she told me it was perfectly safe and the filling would be cheaper and last longer, it was the best choice (other than gold).

 

Most dentists will tell you mercury fillings are safe while most holistic medicine purveyors will tell you they're poison. As far as I've been able to ascertain, the amount of mercury in fillings is very small and well under FDA guidelines for mercury exposure. The mercury blood level of people with amalgam fillings does seem to be a bit higher than with people who don't have them but it doesn't exceed what you're exposed naturally anyway.

 

So I decided not to bother to have them changed. Of course, I absolutely loathe dentists so that was also a consideration.

You have an honest dentist

[OneMoreFarang]

59 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I don't think there are any dentists nowadays who use amalgam, although I am willing to stand corrected.

 

I have not had an amalgam filling for 20 years.

My dentist, who I think is pretty good, suggested recently amalgam for one molar. She said the usual "plastic" filling is not strong enough for a molar (I think the area where teeth are grinding against each other).

I think I decided to use ceramic which was more expensive - but I don't remember the details.

[novacova]

6 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

Does anybody have any knowledge of/experience with this procedure?

Yes, had them removed well over twenty years ago.

6 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

Would you have it done if you had known then what you know now?

What I know now is the same as I knew then. Though haven’t noticed anything different after having them removed.

[JackGats]

I remember someone explaining that the removal proper of the amalgams cause more contamination than keeping them until they fall off by themselves.

[scoutman360]

My amalgams have been in place 55+ years and still going strong. Meanwhile, the composit fill replacements (on a few) keep cracking and I have paid to have them replaced again more than once. Each time more of my tooth is wittled off. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

I had my amalgam fillings removed around 30 years ago, and replaced with polymer fillings and in some cases ceramic inlays (for bigger areas on the chewing surfaces).

 

My dentist back then in South Africa (RIP (the country, not the dentist)) did a very good job of preparation for safe removal both for him and me. In addition to things already mentioned in this thread, to avoid any drilling residue entering the throat and swallowed he put a rubber "coffer dam" tightly around the tooth and covering everything else.

 

I didn't have any specific symptoms of mercury poisoning, but did this as a precautionary measure, since it is usually old, partly broken or eroded fillings that can eventually leach out mercury. I also didn't have any adverse effects of the removal, nor did I feel any better for that matter. My blood mercury is stable and low now and back then.

 

Some will say "let sleeping dogs lie", since the risk of extraction vs the benefits may be hard to calculate. The mercury in amalgam is usually very tightly bonded, and unlikely to cause any harm (except to the dentist who used to work in this environment all day, every day).

 

I can see that side of things, same as with a root canal treatment. I would prefer extraction and implant before a root canal, but if you already have a root canal that has been done by a good dentist and is not causing problems, it may be better to let it stay. But there is a risk that anaerobic bacteria can build up, and eventually leach out and get into your bloodstream. And these bacteria can be very dangerous to the heart especially. But again, the very process of drilling into this "can of worms" may help to spread the bacteria. Like a biopsy for cancer detection. Very useful, but may in some cases help to spread the cancer. So doomed if you do, doomed if you don't...

[BangkokHank]

41 minutes ago, MeaMaximaCulpa said:

to avoid any drilling residue entering the throat and swallowed he put a rubber "coffer dam" tightly around the tooth and covering everything else.

Ah, thanks for mentioning that. That is something else that is mentioned on the list of things that the dentist here in Chiang Mai will do to ensure a safe removal of my fillings. I didn't know what it meant, but now I do. Thanks.

 

As was the case with you, I don't have any specific symptoms of mercury poisoning. But my feeling is that mercury does not benefit the human body, so I want to have my fillings removed by a competent dentist. I won't expect any life-changing improvements in my health, but I will be pleased if there are any.

 

Thanks again very much for your thoughtful response.

[ericbj]

Amalgam fillings should be replaced.  But only by a dentist experienced in the procedures and precautions.  Otherwise can make things worse.  Far worse.

 

Have x-rays done AFTER the operation to ensure all traces of amalgam have been removed.  Tiny amounts are said to also cause problems.

 

Appearance of amalgam fillings is meaningless.  Mercury gasses out and accumulates in the body.  The body can to some degree detox itself of heavy metals but this is very slow and varies from person to person.

 

Had mine done by the Grace Dental Clinic in Chiang Mai in 2006, on recommendation of the Pakua Clinic, Tao Garden.  Replacement fillings are still with me.  I believe non-amalgam fillings are of more than one kind.  Check it out.

 

According to recent hair analysis my current mercury level (as per what is being excreted in the hair) is extremely low.

[newbee2022]

The advice of that young dentist is pretty that was science says..

Believing brochures offering an oxygen atmosphere is just aiming to your wallet, far away from science.

However, can you live without oxygen?🤣.

Read this here, before you do unnecessary dentistry.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3388771/