Tag Archives: White Fillings

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Can you get stained teeth from silver fillings?

I have two fillings that I want taken out and replaced with white fillings, both because of how they look and because of the mercury. I’ve been trying to lead a more healthy lifestyle, and a lot of the holistic magazines I read now mention removal of silver (mercury) fillings as part of reducing your “toxic load”.

Anyway, my dentist said that maybe those teeth won’t look very good when we are done, because the silver fillings might have stained my teeth? They are molars, but are visible when I laugh or talk.

Is this right? What makes the stain? That kind of freaks me out, because what if the toxins are now soaked into my teeth. I am also kind of worried about how strong these teeth will be after the procedure. About seventy percent of the teeth are filling, and my dentist said that the material in the composite is not as strong as the silver filling material (he will never call it mercury). Are these teeth going to be at risk for breaking or cracking?

Maggie in Colorado Springs

Dear Maggie,

Over the years our practice has removed many amalgam fillings and replaced them with white fillings, and we have never seen a case where they did not look significantly better. It is true that the amalgam fillings can cause some discoloration in your teeth, but it is usually very minimal, and in back teeth or molars should be barely noticeable.

The real issue at hand is that it sounds like your dentist is not comfortable with this procedure, and is kind of trying to talk you out of it. Putting white composite fillings in the back teeth is very different and more challenging than placing amalgam fillings, and if your dentist has not had training in this procedure, he may not be comfortable doing it. Most dental schools do not teach placement of composite fillings, so unless your dentist has pursued training beyond dental school, he may not be comfortable doing them, especially in the back of the mouth.

One point that should be made very clear: it is ALWAYS a bad idea to push a dentist out of his or her comfort zone. If you get the feeling that your dentist is not comfortable with a procedure you want, then it is best to seek the services of a different dentist.

One other thing–you state that more than half of the teeth in question are fillings, and in that case, we would strongly suggest porcelain crowns rather than fillings. For smaller fillings, replacing amalgam fillings with white composite fillings actually yields a stronger end result, because the composite bonds to the tooth. But removing and replacing fillings that large may well result in the cracking you are worrying about. Porcelain crowns are the safer option.

This blog post is provided as a courtesy of the dental office of Dr. Malone, Lafayette Louisiana cosmetic dentist.

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Is there a specific time wisdom teeth should be removed?

Even though I am well into my forties, up until last week I still had all my wisdom teeth. A broken filling in one of the wisdom teeth prompted my dentist to advise me to have both the upper ones out, which I did. She said that replacing a filling in a wisdom tooth would be extremely challenging to do properly, and that a poorly placed filling could lead to an infection, which would likely end with the tooth coming out anyway, so we just cut to the chase.

She is more ambiguous about whether or not I should have the lower wisdom teeth removed. I’ve never had any problems with them, but would it be better to just get it over with if they will cause problems like these down the road. I have good dental coverage right now, and would almost have it all over and done with rather than waiting for a problem to develop.

Thanks,

Paul in Las Vegas

Dear Paul,

There should always be some reason for removing wisdom teeth, beyond them just being wisdom teeth. It sounds as if yours erupted normally, or they would have been causing you problems long before now. I am sure you have heard of wisdom teeth that are impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause a lot of problems with the alignment of your other teeth, and they are best removed as soon as possible, preferably before the age of 25.

However, as you have experienced, even wisdom teeth that have erupted normally can cause problems. Your dentist was wise to recognize the challenge in placing white fillings in wisdom teeth.

In your case, it could happen that the wisdom teeth will super-erupt, which is when missing teeth cause the corresponding teeth in the opposite jaw to grow to try and reach the now absent teeth. This could create alignment problems that could ultimately lead to TMJ issues.

Ultimately, you and your dentist must decide together. In time, it may become obvious that the best course of action is to have them out.

 

For more information about white fillings, dental bridges, dental implants and other restorative services, see our website.

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My dentist doesn’t want to do white fillings.

I have a back molar that needs to have a filling. I asked my dentist about getting a white filling, because it looks so much better than the ugly silver ones, but he did not seem to want to use a white filling in my back tooth.  What should I do? I hate the way the silver fillings look, and I heard something about them containing mercury.

–Addison from New Orleans

Dear Addison,

This is a tricky situation – you should always avoid pushing your dentist to do something he does not feel comfortable doing. Your dentist may be reluctant to put a white filling in your back molar because he is not confident in his ability to do the job properly. The placement of white composite fillings is not required training in dental schools, so a dentist must seek training above and beyond his dental school training to know how to effectively place a white composite filling, particularly in the back of the mouth.

That being said, if you are really sure you want a white filling, you will want to seek a dentist who is trained to place white composite fillings properly.

You are very right – white composite fillings are much more attractive than silver amalgam fillings. And you are also correct about the mercury – silver amalgam fillings are more than 40% mercury by weight, and whether or not that mercury is toxic to the body is a hotly debated subject in the world of dentistry. Some research seems to indicate that small amounts of mercury are released when chewing, but it has not been determined that the amount of mercury released is toxic. Many people choose to err on the side of caution and go with the white composite fillings.

Again, you should always avoid pushing your dentist into doing something he is not comfortable doing. This often has a less than satisfactory result. To locate a dentist in your area who is trained to place white composite fillings, check the referral list on mynewsmile.com.

For more information on white fillings, check out our website.