A 36-year-old member asked:
would removing mercury amalgam fillings cause greater risks than keeping them in?
4 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in

Dr. Donald Cohen answered
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 42 years experience
Maybe: There is no scientific proof to show that silver mercury fillings are putting you at risk for mercury toxicity. Removing them may benefit you if you want tooth colored fillings but that is an esthetic issue. Doing un-necessary dental may cause more harm as some tooth structure will have to be removed for the new filling.
4521 viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. I. Jay Freedman answered
Dentistry 43 years experience
Safe overall : Silver fillings with mercury have been around for over 150 years and are safe. NIH, the CDC and numerous universities have done long term studies and they all show that once set、these filling are beiegn., so don't worry. Advise would be to only replace the silver amalgams if they are failing. Good Luck!
3868 viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Paul Grin answered
Pain Management 36 years experience
No Risk At All: Most research finds no relationship between fillings and symptoms of mercury poisoning or other side effects. Eventually, any cavity if not treated, can lead to pain, infection, root canal and even tooth loss. See your dentist for evaluation, x-rays and treatment.
3819 viewsAnswered >2 years ago

Dr. Gary Sandler answered
Dentistry 54 years experience
Mercury fillings: To date, with rare exception, there seems to be no danger to patients in placing, leaving them, or replacing them. So the bottom line is, not to be concerned and therefore whatever you do, do it for reasons other than fear of mercury in fillings. I have both amalgam fillings and composite fillings in my mouth and without any concern at all.
3819 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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Similar questions
A 40-year-old member asked:
Can mercury amalgam fillings cause health problems?
5 doctor answers • 13 doctors weighed in

Dr. Richard Ruden answered
Dentistry 38 years experience
Possibly: The definitive answer is controversial among the scientific community. There is definitely a release into the oral cavity of mercury vapor but is the amount released the cause of health problems has not been proven. This is the reason the ada still accepts amalgam as an acceptable restoration. If you do not want this material used than have your dentist use composite material instead.
5706 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
What are the dangers of having mercury amalgam fillings?
10 doctor answers • 16 doctors weighed in

Dr. Jonathan Engel answered
Dentistry 39 years experience
Depends: It all depends on where you want to go with this. If you want to say there are dangers you can find lots of studies on line to verify it. The danger of mercury is well documented, whether or not it can leach from a filling and cause an issue is where the controversy is. My personal take is that if 1% of what they say is true then they are bad. I feel we have better alternatives in dentistry.
5572 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
After 50 years can you get poisioned from mercury amalgam fillings?
3 doctor answers • 11 doctors weighed in

Dr. Phillip Frist answered
Dentistry 46 years experience
NO: None of the research on amalgam fillings has ever been able to prove toxicity from mercury in amalgam fillings. They are being used less because the tooth colored fillings appear better and the doctors are not being exposed as much but the mercury in a filling is bonded into the metal and is not absorbed by you the patient. Amalgam fillings are still accepted by the ada.
5552 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
What are some things I should know about removing mercury amalgam fillings?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in

Dr. Keith Grimm answered
Dentistry 25 years experience
Only if necessary: There has been research in the past that shows the only time mercury is released from an amalgam filling is during it's removal. For that reason, i wouldn't recommend having them electivly removed just becuase they contain mercury. What the time does come where they need to be fixed, have you dentist use a dental dam to minimize your exposure.
5492 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Why do dentists use mercury to do amalgam fillings?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

Dr. Keith Grimm answered
Dentistry 25 years experience
"Ingredients": Mercury is one of the metals contained in the alloy of amalgam fillings. There is some controversy over whether or not is is released from the amalgam; however, nothing has ever been clincally proven to be harmful.
5478 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Aug 4, 2014
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