Amalgam fillings are considerably less expensive than porcelain, the most common replacement method.

Some dental insurance plans will pay the complete charge for amalgam but not for porcelain. Let's see what happens now!

Whoa, what fillings still have mercury in them? Mine were ceramic, they last longer and match your teeth better.

There are no ceramic fillings -- that was a crown that you had (Cybercat). This talk about mercury in amalgams is worthless, and there are no studies that have scientifically established any connection between the amalgam restorations and neurological disorders. Additionally, you are far more likely to take in harmful levels of mercury from a large seafood dinner.

The fact is that composite (resinous) restoration materials are not quite capable of being effective in all tooth restorations. Amalgams are still the most/only effective material in many cases (eg. loss of tooth structure significant, but not great enough to warrant a crown).

This is a hotbutton issue because people dont really understand what they're talking about and want an easy culprit to attribute their problems to.

Amalgam fillings have mercury in them. I am actually trying to sue a dentist that placed an amalgam filling in autistic son's mouth against my express wishes.

Don't you have any source for the FDA website, about this topic? This is indeed big news. Let us know, thanks.

My dentist gave me a choice a couple weeks ago. Those "ceramic" fillings you got are most likely actually UV cured resin. I've got a bunch of those too. I'm sure we'll eventually find out they contain bisphenol A, phthalates, etc.

sadly i am one of those cases.... I had a terrible dentist that even today insists on using amalgam fillings. I got my only filling when i was 11, shortly after i started developing a heart condition. My heart would skip beats, race, or double beat while eating or when i would lie down. For years doctors didn't know what was going on and the best they could come up with was blood thinners. I didn't take any medication because i didn't trust the docters enough with their opinions. I had been a part of my everyday life for a long time, and i had to deal with it daily.

Fast forward 15 years and i read on the internet of a connection between amalgam and heart palpitations. I schedule an appointment to get it removed, my dentist does a horrible job of removing it, just basically takes a grinder to it so i end up ingesting a good portion of it. The next three days after my heart was just going crazy flip flopping all over the place. over the next year my condition got better and better to the point now where i go weeks without dealing with the symptoms. When my heart does palpitate it is no where as severe as it used to be and lasts a very short time.

To me it is clear that amalgam does pose a health concern and should be avoided at all ages and a flat out ban should be placed on the substance. Mercury, in your mouth? What kind of a genius came up with that? anyway the amount of appointments and other medical things i had to go through to come to no conclusions wasted a huge amount of taxpayers dollars for medicare. It does not make financial sense to support such a practice.

"125 million tons of which have been used in the EU last year alone."
I'm a little perplexed by this number, the EU has a population of 495.5 million. This would come out to a 1/4 ton of Hg per person.

Let's hope the NHS reads and responds to the FDA report.

I've never had a filling. I never floss. When I was little I had my baby teeth "sealed." Not sure with what but it worked. Aren't cavities almost completely avoidable with proper use of mouthwash, tooth brush, and tooth paste, and annual dental cleanings?

I have a lot of almagam fillings and metal crowns. I did a poor job of taking care of my teeth when I was a kid and am paying for it now. It didn't help that I ate tons of sugary snacks and drank gallons of HFCS soda. I'm over 40 now and I'm in relatively good health. I could stand to lose a few pounds but I'm not obese. I understand it would be a greater hazard to remove the amalgam fillings with ones that wouldn't last as long.

As Anthony noted, sealing teeth is a good thing. It's more common in the third world where access to a dentist is infrequent.

Really at this point the only viable alternative to amalgam is removal of the tooth. Hopefully as dental technology improves a safer alternative will be developed.

I suspect that dentists who implant amalgam are at greater risk to mercury poisoning than those who have them. I hope someone has done accurate surveys comparing those with amalgam fillings and dental health care workers with other health care workers.

Depends on a lot of factors Anthony. Thickness of enamel, porousness of tooth, mouth chemistry and types of native bacteria. My father has been diagnosed with some sort of super bacteria that match his mouth chemistry. He'll get cavities no matter what he does.

Yeah superbad, they sealed the filling or hardened it with UV rays so that's probably it. I'm not terribly worried about it considering the only alternative is to have them removed. I kinda like my teeth. And chewing.

I keep pretty good care of my teeth but it was slightly easier where I used to live where the water was spring water and had a lot of natural minerals and such in it so pretty much nobody got cavities in the area. I also began drinking a lot of soda and grinding my teeth at night which led to some decay, not a cavity, so I had it smoothed out and filled since it was causing quite a bit of pain.

As for avoidability of cavities, it really depends on the person and the area. My mother flossed and brushed twice a day and STILL got cavities on a regular basis. It's part body science and part personal upkeep but I guess some people are just unlucky.

Kenny thanks for posting on this I just got the last remaining amalgam fillings taken out last week! Got them all replaced with cerec ones. Way better. Amalgam also deteriorates over time as it reacts to hot and cold. Over time the fluctuations caused holes near the fillings and allowed bacteria to creep in. I learned this the hard way and two root canals later. Go cerec or porcelain if you can! Also if you want to find a great green dentist in the Bay Area check out - http://sfgreendentist.com/ - she's great!

yes and floss regularly too....

:)

what is the relationship between this topic to Environment Issues?

i got my mercury fillings taken out a couple years ago by a specialist and replaced with some non ceramic hypoallerganic stuff. Everyone in the room wore space suits, there were giant vacumms in my face, my body was covered and a dental dam covered every part of my mouth except the tooth with the filling being removed, there was gauze filters up my nose, and plastic pinned over my face. It looked like hellraiser and i could barely breathe.
It did not cure me of the autoimmune disease I have (which i hoped for) but it totally alliviated some symptoms i had instantly - and 6 years later those symptoms have never returned. (The symptoms were spinal shakes and pain, constant leg spasms, and some other neurological junk).

I have never worked with mercury directly, or anything containing it. I have only two amalgam fillings. And I have one of the highest chronic mercury poisonings my specialist has seen in years.

If anyone here still believes that there is no danger in using amalgam fillings, I shall gladly list my symptoms. But I think it suffices to say I have been ill for 8+ years, and unable to work for one.

Mercury takes years to get out of the system and I am glad my process has now started. "Superbad", I'd suggest you have a hairtest done to see what remains and have a program designed for you. You need to ACTIVELY chelate it from the body, quite possibly with IV treatment as well, or it will stay, deep in your tissues and organs, and can still harm you and lead to diseases including Alzheimers.

How do I know if my fillings were amalgam? In the early nineties, Oregon, I had to get 8 fillings at the same time. (i dont remember if same day or not (prob not)) on all my back molars. they have that normal (metal) filling look. mid nineties I starting getting WEIRD and terrible symptoms and TERRIBLE tension headaches, i was 13. so they could never figure out what was wrong until I was 17 and they diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. we dont know how to handle it, "cure it",how i got it, anything, didnt even know what it was. Now I know that what the current idea of fibromyalgia is. It is a neurological disorder. Could this have been mercury poisoning? Am I thinking into it too much. It would be very helpful. I'll research that, always looking for treatments and other answers. I would like to see your opinions too. of course intelligent ones. forgive my grammar, I am in a flare, greatly limiting normal function.