Amalgam Filling
It feels as though with every new generation, we learn even more about the human body and all of the strange things that past generations have done to it! It is almost possible to laugh sometimes at the crazy things that doctors and medical staff did to people hundreds of years ago, absolutely convinced that they were doing the right thing, even though it could actually have been causing them even more pain than necessary – and potentially not in any way curing the problem at all. One of the things that our generation is having to deal with on almost a yearly basis is the fact that dentists in our pasts thought that it was absolutely fine to use mercury within tooth fillings. Now that we understand that mercury really is not good for the body, but in fact can be highly poisonous, many people are going back to their dentists and asking them to take their mercury fillings out. But is this a good idea if you are pregnant?
The main concern here is that absolutely everything that we ingest will find its way into our placenta and then straight into our babies, so many people worry that if they do ask their dentist to remove their mercury filling – also known as a silver filling – then they will automatically ingest some as it is taken out, and that could poison their baby, leaving them with real damage. It is completely understandable why people panic about this, but the thing that you need to remember is that when it comes to your mercury filling, you will be in one of two situations. You will either have a completely intact mercury filling, or you will have a leaking mercury filling. What you should do if you are pregnant and considering talking to your dentist depends on the state of your filling.
If your mercury filling is already leaking, then it is definitely time to have it removed. Your dentist can use a dam (like a special mouth guard, only it prevents anything from going down your throat) to make sure that you do not ingest any of the mercury or silver as they are taking it out, and as it has already been leaking into your body, it is definitely a case of the sooner the better. Wasting time in this situation is definitely not a good idea. On the other hand, if your mercury filling is completely intact and is not leaking at all, then at this point there really isn’t a good reason for your dentist to get involved. It would be much better for you to wait until you are no longer pregnant or breastfeeding, so that your dentist does not have to worry about working on you and you don’t have to worry about any spilling out. As always when it comes to being pregnant, only you at the end of the day can make this decision.
To have Dr. Paige Woods assess whether your amalgam fillings should be removed now or later, call (619) 359-6569
