I want to get rid of my silver fillings because of their mercury content, but my dentist absolutely refuses to. He says they are safe in my mouth and if I am worried about the mercury, taking them out will expose me to more than if I just left them in. I’m having a hard time believing that is true and think he just doesn’t like admitting these are not the best filling option any more. He still doesn’t even offer the white fillings. Do I need to find a holistic dentist in order to get this taken care of?
Pamela
Dear Pamela,
I can understand your frustration here. Let’s start with getting rid of the silver (amalgam) fillings in order to replace them with the composite (white) fillings. If your current dentist removed them, he is correct that you would probably be exposed to mercury content both in liquid form as well as the vapors. That is because he is not aware of the sanitary amalgam removal procedure, which enables dentists to safely remove amalgam fillings without exposing you to mercury.
Will you need to go to a holistic dentist to get this done? Not really. A holistic dentist should know how to do the sanitary amalgam procedure, but so should just about any mercury-free dentist. It will be easier to locate a mercury-free dentist than it will to find a holistic dentist.
I’m going to be honest with you that I think you need to switch dentists. Even if you went to someone else to remove the silver fillings, you still need to have the white ones placed. It is not the same procedure as placing the old fillings. If he doesn’t get it right there will be problems.
My suggestion is you find a dentist who has kept up with the advancements of his or her profession. Start with that mercury-free dentist to see what you think of them and then go from there.
This blog is brought to you by Enfield Dentist Dr. Bill Cummiskey.
