Replacing Those Old Amalgam Dental Fillings!

[Drew Aitch]

There's a lot of talk about dental treatment in general on the forum, along with recommendations for various practices and personal experiences, but I have a questions that I've not seen raised before. So if anyone can answer this for me it would be appreciated

Like most people of my generation (and older), I've got a gob full of fillings all of which are of the amalgam variety. You know the ones, they're that kind or dark silver colour. I'm not sure of the life expectancy of these types of fillings, and perhaps they're even expected to outlive the patient, which is why my question might sound a little odd.

Q. Has anyone here in Chiang Mai had these old silver fillings removed and replaced with the newer 'tooth coloured' materials? I think dentists call this relatively new technology a composite filling.

Anyway, I've been considering getting a bloody good clean-up for quite some time now, and thought I might just throw this post out while I was thinking about it. I'm still not sure which CM dentist to visit yet as there are members for and those against just about every local dental surgery mentioned in the past. Therefore, choice will likely be made on service, location, and price, whereas the experience itself will be reported in an update.

Thanks in advance

Aitch

[Ulysses G.]

If you believe that silver fillings are dangerous - I still am not sure - you need to go to a dentist who is trained to take them out without exposing you to the mercury dust caused by drilling them.

There are dentists in Chiang Mai as I've meet several people who have replaced them, but I have no idea how to find them.

By the way, they do get old and fall out, so replacing them is not such a bad idea.

[Deke]

My recommendation, from limited experience, is to leave them alone. The replacements that I've had were no where near as durable as the old amalgam ones.

As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Drew Aitch]

Thanks for the responses guys. Mr G, I had no idea that there could be health implications involved in the removal of these types of fillings, but I guess that's something for another thread. It has made me want to perhaps look into this a little more though...

As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Once again, sound advice and something that I've also told myself too, which is why I don't generally do 'Health & Maintenance' issues very often. Heck, I had a medical check-up a couple of months back for the first time in my life, and I'm forty sodding eight years old I do look after my teeth as far as one can from home. Dental visits really are few and far between which is why I'm considering getting a good clean up (maybe whitening), and possibly replacing some of these 30+ year old grubby looking fillings with lighter alternatives while I'm at it.

If anyone else has anything to contribute, please fire away.

Aitch

[NancyL]

Yes, those amalgam fillings definitely have a finite life and I'd recommend not messing with them unless they fail. A dentist can tell you when that's happening.

You can have problems every time a filling is replaced. There's the problem of mercury dust exposure brought up by Ulysses. Plus, every time a dentist removes a filling and replaces it, they have to drill the healthy part of the tooth a bit more to create more of a undercut so that the filling has something to "grasp". Sorry, that's my non-dentist attempt at a technical explanation.

I've had gold, composite and almagam fillings and the gold ones are my favorite. They feel really good and seem to last forever. The composite ones look good for a while, but within a few years they won't match the rest of your teeth. They stay a nice perfect color while your teeth "age" in color. My dentist here in Chiang Mai has actually retouched by compsite fillings to darken them to match the rest of my teeth.

I won't have tooth whitening. I've found dentists in both the U.S. and Thailand to be very ambivalent about the long-term effects of tooth whitening. If they can't give me data that it doesn't affect teeth long-term, then I'm not having it done. Besides, it looks really fake to see an older person with really white teeth.

[benno]

Amalgam should be replaced with composite filling after about ten years. Standard procedure in Eu OUTSIDE Britain and Russia.

Had it done in a small but modern dental clinic in Khon Kaen 2years ago

250 baht per tooth.

If you want whiter teeth, dont go for the whitening stuff, have veneer fitted. Should be about 6.000 baht per tooth.

And yeas,it does make "old" guys look better, and it did give my self confidence a real boost.

[elektrified]

My recommendation, from limited experience, is to leave them alone. The replacements that I've had were no where near as durable as the old amalgam ones.

As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I concur and also agree with U.G. and NancyL. I've had the old fillings in my mouth for more than 35 years and most of them are still in good shape. I've replaced some of them with the composite white fillings when the amalgam ones broke or fell out. Almost every one of the new ones has already broken and had to be replaced a 2nd time in only 3-4 years time. They don't make 'em like they used to....

I've asked a few dentists in Thailand, the USA and Europe their opinion of having the amalgam fillings stay in the mouth for so long. All of them have told me to leave them alone and not replace them unless necessary.

[Gonsalviz]

Amalgam should be replaced with composite filling after about ten years. Standard procedure in Eu OUTSIDE Britain and Russia.

Had it done in a small but modern dental clinic in Khon Kaen 2years ago

250 baht per tooth.

If you want whiter teeth, dont go for the whitening stuff, have veneer fitted. Should be about 6.000 baht per tooth.

And yeas,it does make "old" guys look better, and it did give my self confidence a real boost.

Gee and I thought 300 baht was good. Now I feel like I go ripped off.

[Blinky Bill]

I've asked a few dentists in Thailand, the USA and Europe their opinion of having the amalgam fillings stay in the mouth for so long. All of them have told me to leave them alone and not replace them unless necessary.

I concur, I was talking to one of the specialists at Grace last year, he said exactly that.

[Greenside]

I had a whole mouthfull of amalgam and had all of them (12 or 13 if I recall) replaced about 6 years ago. No one mentioned health implications at the time but since I always seemed to need a lot of work, I look at it that nowadays if a filling needs the drill I don't have to worry about the mercury. Getting back the ability to smile naturally was a big plus! I'd recommend it.

The colour matching issue is an ongoing problem but I'd rather have some differences in shade than look like Jaws.

[Drew Aitch]

Amalgam should be replaced with composite filling after about ten years. Standard procedure in Eu OUTSIDE Britain and Russia.

Crikey! And there's me with a gobful of Amalgam fillings, most of which date back to more than 30 years

Like all posts, there are those with different opinions on this and i guess there may be a few more mixed views to still to come. I'm always a bit weary of medical advice given by well-meaning non medical professionals, unless of course it is backed up with some real life facts and figures on either the dangers or benefits of whatever it is being discussed. Because it's legal to practice this, one would assume there were certain stringent tests and standards that would have been passed before the the replacement of 'healthy' fillings could be done on request of the customer.

The colour matching issue is an ongoing problem but I'd rather have some differences in shade than look like Jaws.

Ha ha lol This is the point really. Way back in a bygone age, the choices in cosmetic dentistry were pretty limited, but not so any more! Now that it's possible to improve the longevity and the appearance of teeth and gums through modern breakthroughs in technology, I don't see why some people consider white teeth to look out of place on all but the youth. One of my mates is 72 this year and he's got a lovely set of nashers. In fact, his pearly whites would be the envy of many a teenager. Oh, and his wrinkly shrivelled up skin and sagging chin(s) don't make his lovely clean smile look out of place, even at his age.

Another mate, some 10 years younger, looks like a rotting corpse when he smiles. Broken, bent, filthy teeth, along with a fowl smelling breath, give him a face that could only be loved by a mother! Heck, i bet even the soi dogs would think twice about licking his chops even if there was a slither of raw steak hanging out of his mouth!!!!

Taking pride in ones health and ones appearance is something for all ages! Are you being good to YOU?

Aitch

Edited October 25, 2009 by Drew Aitch

[cardinalblue]

I just had one old filling replaced (2 weeks ago) b/c my dentist wanted to check if I had a crack under the filling which I didn't. I did ask him about these old fillings and commented that they can leak. That was not my case but did say technology has improved immensely. That said, I had this filling and many others over 30 years w/o any problems. He said no need to replace if no problems...

CB

[chorizo]

I have a Swedish friend that had health problems years ago and docs could not find an answer....he had all of his Amalgam fillings removed and later his health came back...Mercury poisoning???who knows..

There is a program on TV, believe it is called Detox...channel 42-43-44?? that explains it...said even hot foods could make the vapors come off the fillings.....interesting show...

[jackr]

My recommendation, from limited experience, is to leave them alone. The replacements that I've had were no where near as durable as the old amalgam ones.

As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Yep, had one of mine replaced/touched up couple weeks ago and have now developed a toothache where there wasn't one before. Also, although probably just a coincidence, I've been quite sick for the last couple weeks, too. hmmm

/Should also add that I've had a noticeable metallic taste in my mouth since the work.

Edited July 3, 2010 by jackr

[whiterussian]

Had many replaced as the old amalgam ones have fallen out over the years... getting another 4 or 5 replaced this month.

Feel much better not having a mouth full of mercury!

Although I'm not sure how healthy all those dental xrays directed at my head have been

Edited July 3, 2010 by whiterussian

[jayjay0]

I never gave it a thought just replace them as needs be.

That being said after reading this thread I am wondering about the over all effect of leaving mercury in your mouth. Surly that can not be good for you.

[lonewolf99]

I never gave it a thought just replace them as needs be.

That being said after reading this thread I am wondering about the over all effect of leaving mercury in your mouth. Surly that can not be good for you.

I have seen reports over many years now about mercury fillings but I think the jury is still out on this one ?

I had an old filling come out on a boiled sweet 2 years ago and a Thai Dentist dug out the remains and replaced it with a new "white" style one.

3 months later I was back in the UK and had to get an emergency apointment at the hospital to have this tooth extracted after suffering terrible pain over night.

May be a co-incidence but the infection was deep rooted. DID the Thai Dentist make a mistake or was it the new filling ? I don't know ?

I also paid 7,000 baht for my teeth to be whitened last year here in Thailand with Laser treatment. It lasted about 6 months. I could not give up my tea and coffee or continue drinking with a straw.

Initially the result was good - the dentist used a scale of 1 to 12 for whiteness. I was a 5 when I started and she made me a 10.5. She said trying to get a Hollywood 12 might make my teeth hyper sensitive to heat and cold.

I would say I am now a 8.5

These are my own results - do not let me put any one off having anything cosmetic done by a proffessional. The choice is yours.

[cloudhopper]

Had many replaced as the old amalgam ones have fallen out over the years... getting another 4 or 5 replaced this month.

Feel much better not having a mouth full of mercury!

Although I'm not sure how healthy all those dental xrays directed at my head have been

How do you feel about having a mouth full of toxic epoxy resins that are far more soluble (and therefore shorter lived) than amalgam? How do you feel about eating table salt which is composed of a metal which bursts into flame on contact with water combined with a poison gas?

Your concern about X-rays is well founded however, and you should stay out of their way as much as possible.

[daoyai]

Cloudhopper, I wanna learn the exploding salt trick, can you elaboarate? I had all my old fillings replaced at Grace, they were more than happy to do the job. They said they had shrunk and there were gaps that allowed food to rot inside, this was when Grace was still cheap place to go, only a little more expensive than the competition.