unnecessary replacement of old fillings?

[poe]

A week ago i went to my dentist's office because of a little crack on the edge of the last low tooth. I thought the dentist would fix only that part by doing a filling. But without even asking me, he simply replaced an old silver filling on the same tooth with resin/composite material and also did another filling on an upper tooth.

Here are my questions:

1. Is it proper that the dentist replaced the old amalgam filling which is still good with resin/composite material, especially for the last tooth.

2. Is it proper that the dentist did not ask me and discuss with me before he did any other fillings?

3. Should I go to the office to ask for the reason why?

Your answer would be very appreciated.

poe

 

[Zzzdentist]

Yeah oooh that's really a bit of a no no in terms of proceeding with treatment without adequate informed consent. Even if the work was needed, there really should have been consent obtained before the fact. It's like seeing an MD for a pulled tricep muscle and leaving with a splint for the muscle and some botox therapy on the side.

There may have been some miscommunication or something missed which could explain everything so you do have to consider that. I would be a bit leery of a dentist who did extra work without asking a patient. The amalgam removal may have been necessary to conservatively repair the edge of the tooth, but it's hard to say without seeing the tooth before it was fixed.

You can search for some information on informed consent online...