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Alternative material to amalgam to replace existing filling

H

hgl038

Former Member
Hi dentists and non-dentists!, my wisdom teeth erupted at a very early age pushing and burying themselves into the adjacent molars.

After I got all 4 of them out I got a restoration (amalgam) for 1 of the molars which according to the X-rays was the only one that needed it. Some time after this I started researching the amalgam/mercury/health dilemma and got curious.

Say I one to take it out and replace it with something less toxic while obviously mantaining the other desired characteristics of the material (duration, hardness, ability to endure heavy forces, etc), which material would you recommend? Could a ceramic or gold implant be used?

Here are some pictures of the X-rays for your viewing pleasure. Sorry about the quality, it was impossible for me to scan them.

What's your opinion?

[broken links to images removed]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,

Personally, I would leave it alone as each time the tooth is drilled is another trauma to it which eventually could cause the nerve it it to die. The original cavity was quite close to the nerve so it has already suffered some trauma. Mercury amalgam is not toxic to the vast majority of people. It is true, there are some who are sensitive to it and would benefit from replacement with other materials but they are a tiny minority.

Think about it.... nearly every adult for the last 150 years has had amalgam in their mouths and are hospitals are not full of people suffering from mercury toxicity.

If, however, you would still feel more comfortable with it out your mouth I would suggest you go for a cast gold inlay. The filling looks like it goes beneath the gum so a white filling or ceramic inlay that had to be bonded in would not be ideal.

Hope this helps

Lincoln
 
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