Mercury free fillings

[Andrea]

Hi

I would like to have my mercury fillings replaced with mercury free fillings. I have heard that mercury carries health risks and now I wish I never had these silver fillings placed in the first placed.

I would like to know what types of mercury free fillings are available? Are mercury free fillings better than the silver fillings and how painful is it to change old fillings?

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for you your question.

Mercury filling (amalgam fillings) can be replaced without any pain. These days we have very powerful and potent local anaesthesia that allows dentistry to be done in a pain free setting.

There are many options as alternative material to amalgam filling. One of the first choices is composite or otherwise known as resin based white filling material. These materials have been constantly developed over the years and there are many form of it available in the market with different properties for different use and situations.
They are cosmetically much beter than amalgam as they are tooth coloured. However they have their own disadvantages. They do not tend to last as long as metal fillings and patients can experience sensitivity to hot/cold or on biting with them which in 95% of the cases are transient and eventually stops. Disocomfort with white filling material is more so in very large restorations as they are not suitable for large cavities. This is because as they set in the mouth they shrink a little in size and can cause discomfort. But they can be more conservative than amalgam when cavities are prepared for them. This is beacuse composite bond to the tooth where as amalgam flgs do not bond to tooth structure and they just fill the hole.

For vey large cavities alternative choices are better such as ceramic or laboratory made composite restorations/inlays/onlay. One should not forget about gold as a filling material which still is the oldest, and if you do not mention to anyone, it is the best restorative material in dentistry. Just if it was not yellow in colour, dentistry would be of golden age all the time!