To want a white filling for my 8 year old

[innogen75]

Just walked out of the dentist after refusing to put a silver filling in of my 8 year old permanent teeth. It would be pretty visible as it's on the bottom front right hand side.

I feel awful that she needs a filling and her teeth aren't great to start off with but I have certainly tried my best with her dental health over the years. The dentist would barely take no for an answer. He said there were no health issues to be concerned about and that because of her age it just needed to be filled quickly and for that reason he refused to try a composite one.

The thing is he doesn't know if there is a cavity there at all to speak of. He said he wouldn't know until he cleaned it out properly. He was very vague about the x rays and it just left me confused.

I am concerned about health issues regarding silver fillings as we have a lot of autoimmune disorders in my family. I simply don't want to run the risk. Also there is the cosmetic aspect to consider.He said he would refer her to the dental hospital but that they would only do silver too. I'm happy to pay but he insisted it wasn't a cost issue.

He wanted me to get a silver one and then replace it when she was a teenager but to my mind that suggest the cavity is suitable for a white one and it's that he doesn't want the hassle of a white one on a child. Any ideas or suggestions?

I'd just go to a different dentist and pay .

Go to a different dentist.

Change dentist. Go to a practice that doesn't use amalgam fillings.

Different dentist, you will have to pay though.

I can only echo other suggestions and try elsewhere

Is it an adult tooth?

I will try a different practice but he said he has never had a parent refuse a silver filling before and in his experience no dentist would attempt a white one in a child of her age. He certainly made me feel that I was unreasonable and to put it blunt had no other option. I had to say no 8 times!

White fillings are available on the NHS iirc - a dentist can choose to give them to children if they are going to be visible. DS1 had one a few years ago. There's info here on Living Well about white fillings on the NHS, but tbh I think I'd seek a second opinion - he seems a bit drill happy.

in of my 8 year old permanent teeth

itsbetter - ^^

x posts - DS's dentist certainly did put a white filling in his tooth and it was fine, so you can tell him that from SirChenjin! It's trickier to put them in though iirc.

Yes, a permanent tooth and cost really isn't a issue for us....although I did wonder if it might be a reason behind his desired course of action. It is a private practice but obviously kids are free.

My dentist only does silver fillings on the NHS, as we are seen privately we get two price options so can choose. Did you offer to pay the difference?

Sounds like a sensible dentist to me.
It's clearly not a decision your dentist is making for financial gain if he declined your offer to pay for white filling, it will be a decision made on clinical grounds.
At 8 years old, I am guessing this is an adult molar tooth i.e. a back tooth, not a front tooth? If I misunderstood and this is an incisor (a front tooth) then I would think differently, and a white filling would usually be the appropriate choice.
You could go private and then you can have what you pay for - doesn't mean it is the best clinical choice, though.

Yes, the first thing I said was that I was happy to pay to ensure a white one but he said it wasn't possible.

Did he explain why it wasn't possible?

It is a front one on the bottom, it will be very visible.

I recently had a silver filling replaced with a white one with my nhs dentist, I was 16 when I got the silver one, 28 now. He said "I can't believe they didn't do you a white one in 2002, it looks a mess, I want/need to replace it"

He said because young children don't sit still well and a silver one is quicker.

How many teeth back from the middle is it?

My dd was about 12 and she had a white filling, our dentist is private.

I've also,read that it is usually the taking out of the amalgam filling which can cause issues, so his advice to put one in then take it out when she's older, sounds awful to me.

He also doesn't sound very patient if his reasoning is 8 year olds don't sit still long enough! I'd change dentists if I were you.

He's talking rubbish. DS fractured a molar last year and our NHS dentist wanted to put an amalgam in. We refused and went to a private mercury-free practice and the fabulous dentist fixed it with a white filling in seconds with no problems whatsoever. Funnily enough the original dentist told us he'd never had a parent refuse an amalgam filling as well. I wonder whether that's a line they're told to trot out?

That's rubbish - 8 year olds are perfectly capable of sitting still for the short length of time it takes to put in a white filling.

White fillings are available on NHS. I've got some.

find another dentist.