Mercury in dental fillings... Has anyone had them replaced with mercury-free alternatives?

[fried eggs]

Since we're on the topic of woo, I recently read that traces of mercury in my dental fillings might be seeping into my body and causing problems for me as well as predisposing my future offspring to autism. I've had my fillings for about 12 years now, and also 3 crowns that may or may not have silver/mercury.

I included a list of common symptoms of mercury poisoning. I have a lot of the above symptoms. I'm tired all the time and my memory is getting worse by the day.

There is an organization of dentists (http://iaomt.org/) who work to remove and replace mercury fillings and dental work, but unfortunately none of them appear to be on my insurance network. Before I spend hundreds (thousands?) on this, I just wanted to get some opinions on if this is worthwhile. Mainstream dentists INSIST that the mercury in amalgams is safe.

Symptoms and Signs of Mercury Poisoning:
Fatigue
depression
Memory loss
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty making decisions
Anxiety
Insomnia
Tinnitus
Metallic taste in mouth
Headache / backache
Muscular or arthritic aches
Burning hands or feet
Tremor
Fibromyalgia
Cold hands and feet
Certain types of kidney disease
High blood pressure
Low body temperature
Eye problems
Sinusitis
Gum disease
Thyroid disease
Palpitations or irregular heartbeat
Bladder irritability
Loss of sexual interest
Yeast syndrome
Food sensitivities
Sensitivity to perfumes and chemicals
Frequent sore throats
Problems with vision
Gastrointestinal problems

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Two more to go

All have been removed and replaced with ceramic fillings. One more filling and one crown that needs to be replaced.

They look so much better in your mouth too!

[fried eggs]

4. Did insurance cover it?

If not, how much did it cost?

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Crowns

WITH my insurance (Aetna Dental) are $500 a piece. Between my husband and me we maxed out our dental deductible last year so I paid I *think* a $25 copay for the second one.

Each of my fillings was necessary (they are all very very old - a few almost coming out) so my dentist was able to appeal to Insurance to reduce costs.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Mine were replaced

After 25 years, due to failure. I have no reason to believe my GI issues are at all related to them. Nor did they improve.

By failure I mean ill fitting and fracture.

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. Just so you know

these new replacements for the amalgam used in the past...have a much lower shelf life..which will fail and then you will need a root canal and crown.

I know...had a mouth full of amalgam from military dentists...the newer materials are not nearly as effective.

[RKP5637]

5. I don't know about all of the stuff on this list, but all of mine were replaced. At that time my

company insurance paid for a far amount of the bill. Mine were done because they were old and leaking some, and one of my teeth had also fractured from them. I had the luck of having a superb dentist. So, we went ahead and had all of them done and then with ceramic caps. The main benefit for me was excellent teeth. He did mention as a side note that it was also best to have them removed as there had been some evidence of mercury causing problems, apparently, for some people, but in my case that was not the main objective.

[Archae]

7. "Toxic fillings" are a scam.

Just more woo taking money from the gullible.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mercury.html

[RKP5637]

8. Thank you for this post! Excellent post! n/t

[fried eggs]

10. Thank you, but it seems to be about one shady dentist

I want to believe it's all quackery, as that would save a lot of money. But some of these people also insist that HFCS is safe, GMOs are safe, Monsanto seeds are safe, the list goes on and on!

[lunasun]

9. Well pick your poison really

A composite filling is a tooth-colored plastic and glass mixture. Someone above mentioned ceramic fillings, however most tooth colored fillings are part plastic and bonding material which can cause issues also
There are ceramic crowns and ceramic ones that adhere directly to your teeth also that do not have the metal backing( no longer gold unless you pay much more)

Glass is a filling option but rare to find a dentist not doing composite or metal materials
Some do both .
I like that option for a per tooth basis

[shanti]

15. i had to have a couple of gold crowns

not that i wanted them, but they were the very back molars (top and bottom) on one side, and my teeth are considered small, and composites were not do-able for them. the gold crowns were considerably more expensive than ceramic. i also have grinding issues, and the ceramic has already chipped on a couple of the ceramic crowns.

[2naSalit]

11. Last year I had

seven crowns and three fillings. Two crowns were replacements and the rest were to replace amalgam fillings that were very old and I had cracked several of the teeth with the help of the failing old fillings. All my crowns are of some composite porcelain and probably plastic to some degree. I was informed that they are the latest technology and due to last far longer than the materials used in my older crowns - both of which were broken and/or cracked.

They sure look better. I got mine at a post-grad clinic at my alma mater where I was able to qualify for a maximum discount of 50% since I was poor and unemployed - on a sliding scale fee payment program. I had to put my car up for collateral for the loan I needed to pay for it but I am feeling better due to reduction of dental pain and anxiety of knowing my teeth were likely going to crumble within a year if I hadn't had all that done. I still have two fillings to go but that has to wait until I pay off the loan since I don't have insurance and won't be able to get it as I live in a red state that waived the medicare expansion under the ACA.

When amalgam fillings get older they tend to expand from the constant pressure of daily use and press against the tooth structure and will eventually crack the tooth. The newer materials are said to remain stable in shape and strength thus not assisting in deterioration of the tooth structure and will last longer.

I like the clinic because they discuss everything, including costs and all treatment options prior to any work being done, they have state of the art everything and all cases are closely monitored by practicing professionals. It's a training clinic for already graduated dentists who take a one year residency to study extreme cases while doing practicum at the clinic prior to opening their own practice... it's a highly competitive program... a really good deal.

[MFM008]

12. i have almost all

of those symptoms and a mouth full of metal including metal caps. I cant afford and no one will pay for anything else. Just 1 Porcelin crown and root canal cost $1200.00 dollars, that was at reduced cost. I have no choice . I should have them all pulled out like my Mom, my Dad and my brother did.

[shanti]

13. i had quite a few systematically replaced

no more metal in my mouth, everything now is tooth colored. that's a long list you have there. i'm sure i've had at least one of those symptoms, but it would be hard to pinpoint it to the old fillings.

[REP]

14. No thank you. I still have the teeth with amalgam fillings

The ones that had composites? They're either extracted or have expensive gold crowns. Composites are fine for small, superficial fillings on non-grinding surfaces, but as they tend to shrink, they're not that great for large ones on grinding surfaces, especially on teeth that aren't that great to begin with.

[SidDithers]

16. You'll probably be exposed to more mercury during the removal process...

than any trace amounts "seeping" from current fillings.

My dentist suggested that if they're not failing, you're better off not replacing them.

But any new fillings should be ceramic (or whatever it is they're using these days).

Maybe PCIntern will chime in?

Sid

[hobbit709]

17. There's an easy 500 other things with those symptoms.