Do Amalgam Fillings Stain Teeth?

I want to remove a couple of amalgam fillings on my back teeth but my dentist insists it won’t help their appearance to look white because amalgam stains teeth. If that’s true, is there any way to make them look more attractive? Hardly anyone has a smile filled with silver anymore and I feel like it makes me look bad. I have a big smile and you can see my back teeth.

Hillary

Dear Hillary,

There can be some residual staining after removing a silver amalgam filling. However, even when that happens, they still look world’s better when they’re replaced with the white composite fillings.

Though I’m saying go ahead with the replacement, I don’t think you should press your dentist into doing it. My guess is he’s trying to discourage you from replacing them because he’s not as familiar with the placement of the newer composite fillings as he should be, though he’s not likely to admit that.

Find a Mercury-free Dentist

There is a completely different procedure for placing composite fillings on back teeth than you use to place amalgam fillings. There are countless horror stories of patients ending up needing a root canal treatment unnecessarily, simply because their dentist did an incorrect placement.

If you see a mercury-free dentist, this won’t happen. They only place composite fillings and are very familiar with the procedure.

There’s another important reason to see a mercury-free dentist. Removing amalgam fillings requires a special procedure to protect you from inhaling or swallowing any of the mercury or its vapors. This is called a sanitary amalgam removal.

It’s important you see a dentist who understands and has the equipment to do it properly.

Another benefit to composite fillings is the type of bond created with your tooth, will actually strengthen your tooth. The silver fillings weakened them and made them more susceptible to damage.

This blog is brought to you by Naperville Dentist Dr. David Newkirk.