need a filling replaced

[schmamy]

I've been blessed with strong, healthy teeth - only one cavity in my life. But apparently the filling, which is definitely more than 10 years old, is cracked and needs to be replaced. I have an appointment to go back in three weeks...but suddenly I'm remembering snatches of information about mercury and fillings and wondering what I need to know or do.

[greengirl19]

subbing because I'm in the same boat.

[mommylove]

:soapbox

This site (http://www.cdchealth.com/) is my favorite source of info because it covers such a breadth of dental topics. I cannot link just one page, because I think it's all so interesting. (Yes, I'm an INTJ.)

If you have an amalgam filling now, it needs to be removed properly. There's info on this site, as well as all over the internet on how to do that correctly. Dr. Huggins DDS has written a number of books on the subject if you're interested in further reading.

Secondly, you need to understand your options for filling materials. I think what was the most surprising thing to learn is that whether amalgam or composite, either filling will need to be replaced after a number of years & more tooth is drilled at each replacement. On a large filling, that sets the stage for a root canal, which is a whole 'nother controversy. :giggle

Here's a snippet about composit (http://www.cdchealth.com/disadvantagesofdentalcomposites.html)e fillings & here's a snippet about why metals should be avoided (http://www.cdchealth.com/metal-freedentistry.html). Metals are common in dental restorations because metals show up in an x-ray.

Here is an interesting tidbit (http://www.cdchealth.com/dentalmercuryinformation.html) on the history of amalgam fillings.

[schmamy]

OK, so...what are you supposed to do if you don't live near that particular dentist?!

It sounds like the way they do things is pretty out-there, cutting-edge, and rare. I can't go to California to have them fix my filling. Honestly, I read through all that stuff as well as another site sponsored by that dentist, and it's like, "Mercury is going to kill you! Every other dentist does it wrong! Any other way it's done, you'll just end up with MORE problems!" Really? OY.

I'm feeling intrigued/cautious/fearful/concerned but also skeptical/frustrated.

ETA: after reading their page for out-of-state patients, I'm feeling even more inclined to roll my eyes. Their answer to "what do I do if I live out of state? Are there other dentists you can recommend" is--"NO, you should spend hundreds of dollars to come get your dental work done here. This is the ONLY acceptable place."

Come on, really? This is the only right/safe way to do it, and no one else in the world has figured that out and learned to do it?

[inesperada]

I know I've seen a list of dentists who remove mercury fillings safely by state. :think

---------- Post added at 03:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 PM ----------

http://www.dentalwellness4u.com/freeservices/find_dentists.html

[Soliloquy]

A regular, run-of-the-mill dentist who thinks it's perfectly fine to put mercury into people will drill right into that filling and expose you to a huge bolus of mercury vapor.

There are dentists who know better. Most metro areas have at least one. The Huggins Protocol is excellent, Dr Huggins trains dentists, you can ask if a dentist is Huggins certified.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[mamacat]

a lot of the dental offices here are mercury free which tells me thosedentists dont want to be exposed either.It would be worth calling around to see if you can find one and what the protocol is for removing fillings.I had a dentist do mine yrs ago who wasnt Huggins trained but he knew the correct protocol

[mommylove]

Come on, really? This is the only right/safe way to do it, and no one else in the world has figured that out and learned to do it?

The issue is two-fold, as I said earlier.

#1 is safe mercury removal. Google to find a mercury-free dentist in your area.

#2 is the replacement filling. Educate yourself on the options so you can make an informed choice.


:)

[sweetpeasmommy]

Google biological dentist plus your area. For one filling replacement it shouldn't be that much more, but the difference in your health could be huge. I would especially not be willing to risk a mercury dump if you are nursing.

[Carmen]

I have several very very large metal fillings that my dentist wants to replace. The last time I was there I flat told him I wasn't comfortable doing it while I am still in my childbearing years. He did not dismiss my concerns, just said that there isn't a whole lot of hard research on it. My answer was that there were a lot of things like that. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't feel comfortable messing with them at all right now.

I did have 3 of these fillings removed and replaced with crowns when I was newly pregnant with DD1. I didn't know that I was pregnant. It kills me to wonder what I possibly could have done letting them drill out all those fillings in one shot, all the x-rays I had over that period, the novacaine that I had a bit of a systemic reaction to. :shudder

So, what to do? I don't know.

[schmamy]

I hadn't even thought about the nursing issue. I wonder how urgent it really is. It hasn't been giving me problems. Seems like it wouldn't hurt to wait even just another six months or so. DS2 is still nursing...way more attached to it than DS1, so I don't know how long we'll go. Glad you all pointed that out - I think I'd at least prefer to wait until I'm no longer nursing.

AFA the issue being twofold...I get that...and lots of dentists seem to be aware of/striving for the "safe mercury removal" issue...but I get the impression that most of them do resin composite fillings. When I said that CA dentist was the ONLY one in the world to do it "right," I was referring mostly to their process of filling cavities--using the laser and glass polymer, not amalgam nor composite. Their rationale was fairly compelling, but I find myself highly skeptical that no one else in the country has figured out that this way is best and learned how to do it.

[mamacat]

Call around we have a guy here that does the polymer and glass kind

[mommylove]

There's actually a very reasonable explanation.

The method used by the CA dentist isn't a procedure that's taught in dentistry school *until* the dentist goes to grad school. Not all dentists go to grad school, and of those who do, most of them have already had their practices up & running for a few years. (I'm not certain that procedure is regular coursework at all grad schools, either.)

This method is quite time consuming requiring many steps & is very, very precise. It takes patience.

When you consider that once a dentist learns it, he has already mastered the faster, traditional, widely accepted method, what is the motivation to switch to another method that takes longer & doesn't pay any more . . . especially knowing that we (general 'we') don't know to ask for it?

Of the dentists who offer it, it's a niche for sure.



ETA: And the reason the CA dentist is an expert in this method is because he was one of the pioneers who pushed for FDA approval. Then he went on to teach it for many years. It's unlikely that there's anyone in the country with more experience than he. But there are many others who offer it.

HTH.