Getting amalgam fillings changed to white

[ParkedWeasels]

My 1970'S /80's dentist filled my teeth with loads of fillings, all of them amalgam, and I have always hated them. I also suspect he was filling for the money as I had a mum who was obsessed with low sugar. But that is beside the by now, and my query is can anyone tell me if they have had their silver fillings taken out and white ones put it?

Does it hurt? What are the pros and cons?

Yes I have. No it didn’t hurt. Like a filling really. But it isn’t totally white. The silver has stained a bit. But looks so much better.

Same as Dobby. Look much better though. And it wasn't too bad , despite me being a dentophobe!

Take very good professional advice and insist that correct safety procedures are followed.
Unless amalgam fillings are damaged or causing an allergic reaction, or there is decay, many dentists won't remove them due to the risks linked to exposure to mercury dust and vapour.

I had lots of silver fillings. Then we moved to Canada and the dentist was horrified lol.

So I have had all my silver fillings replaced with white ones. It was like having a filling done. So you get numbed up and they drill out the old one and then put in the new.

My teeth do look pretty awesome now! It looks like I don’t have any fillings!!!

I have three fillings that are all white. Had one changed recently from composite to GI which is still white.

Assisted in many filling changes over the years and you can get a thing called amalgam tattoo. Not common but not rare either.

White one is more aesthetically pleasing. Amalgam is actually a stronger material and is meant to last longer. They're just so ugly aren't they.

I had mine replaced, didn't hurt at all, it's just like having a filler done.

I was quite alarmed when the dentist told me the old amalgam filling had to be disposed of as hazardous waste!

Mine were the same as yours, OP, every molar was filled with amalgam when I was very young, despite me rarely eating sweets or having fizzy drinks or fruit juice/cordial. "Drill and fill" was very common in the 70s, it was a nice little earner for dentists. I had them all changed to white fillings about 10 years ago. The only thing my dentist insisted on was me making 2 visits to get them done, as the work was quite tiring for him, apparently 😅

Same as above only my old dentist was drill happy in the early 90s. I had my biggest filling changed for white yesterday. I wasn’t so much bothered by the look of the silver filling as the fact that there was a lot of sensitivity around that massive tooth 🤣 that was because of decay underneath.

I have a few runs to the dentist before all of my childhood dentist’s hatchet jobs are sorted but it’s already feeling and looking better

Same as Rainbow89 above. Moved to Canada nearly 20 years ago, dentist was appalled by amalgam fillings and changed them all to white. Soooo much nicer - and I haven't had to have one replaced since (my amalgam ones seemed to need replacing fairly regularly).
I, too, had a 70s drill happy dentist and I hated how my teeth looked. Now I have a lovely white smile. Didn't hurt at all and no regrets.

@AuldAlliance

Take very good professional advice and insist that correct safety procedures are followed. Unless amalgam fillings are damaged or causing an allergic reaction, or there is decay, many dentists won't remove them due to the risks linked to exposure to mercury dust and vapour.

Er what links? Show me a meta analysis of randomised control trials. And what Mercury dust and vapour do you think is being produced by that high speed hand piece that has a massive water jet attached and massive suction tip whipping away all the amalgam fragments. Honestly. Many dentists may not want to remove them because : the NHS does not support cosmetic Dentistry; everytime you replace a filling you weaken the tooth a bit more (even if you don't have to also remove decay ) therefore reducing the longevity of the tooth. Have a chat with your dentist at your next appointment and see what your treatment options are. It's impossible for strangers on the Internet to do this as it depends on the condition of each tooth.

Sorry, I have no randomised test results, I was merely passing on what three dentists told me. None of whom work for the NHS, none of whom remove amalgam fillings.

The BDA website does state the following:
Should patients have existing amalgams removed?

There is no justification for removing clinically satisfactory dental amalgam restorations as a precaution, except in those patients properly diagnosed as having allergic reactions to amalgam constituents. This is a rare situation. The process of removing dental amalgam restorations temporarily releases mercury vapour.

bda.org/about-the-bda/campaigns/amalgam/Pages/dental-amalgam-faqs.aspx

I'll butt out now.

Is that why they use the suction thing????

The water washes it away and the suction makes sure it doesn't go through you or into the water systems. The amount of Mercury released is tiny. Yes its still there when placed and removed but not in between. but if you eat fish once a week the cumulative effect of that would be more.
The link to BdA website is useful thank you.
The presence of Mercury/ amalgam is a topic which is always jumped upon by the health concerned as a reason for: cancer, headaches, atypical pain, and numerous other conditions.
I think using phrases which may be misinterpreted on a public forum is not helpful for these people.
There is no link between amalgam Dental fillings and any health condition. However there is a responsibility to the patient and environment to minimise any possible effect. The same as there is with many other things we use: like washing up liquid, pesticides etc.