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Having fillings replaced

M

MumOfBoys1985

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
250
Location
Uk
Just after a little advice from our wonderful resident dentists here, or personal experience from other members too.

I have a fair few amalgam fillings - I havent really had alot or dental work in the last 10 years, in fact I think I have only had 2 small repairs the latest being October this year.

The other fillings I have are old. I am wondering whether to enquire about having some replaced with white fillings to improve the look of my mouth - is this something that is a good idea or best left alone and of they ever needed replacing, have it done with white? I wouldnt want to create a nightmare for myself (or my lovely dentist) but I'm quite self conscious and wondered if this might help my mouth generally look better. Cost wise I know white are more expensive but as a family we arent generally wasteful with money so it wouldn't be an issue.

Its just something I am running through my mind and sort of kicking myself thinking why didn't I go for white when they were done originally - I Guess thinking rationally its because I wasn't working at the time (I'd have been at school still) and the treatment would have been free on the NHS.

Thank you everyone and I hope you've had a lovely Xmas x
 
Tough one :)
Bear in mind every time you remove a filling, you lose a small amount of healthy tooth structure as well. White fillings are a lot more fiddly to place well and there's more to go a bit wrong than there are with amalgams, which are pretty much foolproof.

However, the present Mrs G insisted (in spite of all my objections) that I remove all her amalgam fillings and replace them with composite ones about 15 years ago.
Apart from her 3 gold fillings which were done by a handsome young dental student in 1981.

She's had no problems with them (lucky for me) and is much happier with their appearance than she was before.

So basically it's up to you, but be aware, it's not completely without risk :)

How's that for a sitting on the fence answer!
 
Thank you Gordon. Its definitely something to think about.

I wouldnt want to get unnecessary work done which will then set me up for problems. I'll mention it at my next check up and see what my dentist thinks.
 
My new dentist suggested I get my amalgam fillings switched to composite. He did say that normally he would not suggest it unless they were leaking or had decay under them. For me, I have had quite a few cracked molars due to clenching my teeth at night and my two molars that have amalgam fillings have a high chance of cracking (if not already). He explained that amalgam will flex with heat and cold which can cause issues with cracking if you have other circumstances like mine. He said he rarely does it for cosmetic reasons unless it is in the smile zone.
 
My new dentist suggested I get my amalgam fillings switched to composite. He did say that normally he would not suggest it unless they were leaking or had decay under them. For me, I have had quite a few cracked molars due to clenching my teeth at night and my two molars that have amalgam fillings have a high chance of cracking (if not already). He explained that amalgam will flex with heat and cold which can cause issues with cracking if you have other circumstances like mine. He said he rarely does it for cosmetic reasons unless it is in the smile zone.

Thank you for your reply MountainMama. Its helpful to know other peoples experiences as well as professional ones. Its definitely something I will discuss with my dentist next time I go.
 
Tough one :)
Bear in mind every time you remove a filling, you lose a small amount of healthy tooth structure as well. White fillings are a lot more fiddly to place well and there's more to go a bit wrong than there are with amalgams, which are pretty much foolproof.

However, the present Mrs G insisted (in spite of all my objections) that I remove all her amalgam fillings and replace them with composite ones about 15 years ago.
Apart from her 3 gold fillings which were done by a handsome young dental student in 1981.

She's had no problems with them (lucky for me) and is much happier with their appearance than she was before.

So basically it's up to you, but be aware, it's not completely without risk :)

How's that for a sitting on the fence answer!
Have you looked into resin? How much did you pay for each gold filling?
 
Have you looked into resin? How much did you pay for each gold filling?
Is resin and composite the same thing?
The amalgam ones were on the NHS so would have been band two - the price increases each year , but they're not expensive when on NHS
 
I had a bunch of silver fillings from my childhood and teenage years. I’m 44. And a couple of years ago after not going to the dentist for a fee years. I developed 10 Cavities all in the teeth that had the silver fillings. So to fill all the new cavities, all of the silver fillings had to be removed and were replaced with white ones. I was so nervous about it all. But it went fine and I’m happy about how my mouth looks. My kids always cringed when they saw how many silver fillings I had.
 
Resin and composite are the same thing. Technically, it's composite resin, so using either is just shorthand :)
 
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