White Fillings for Children

Posted by writeradmin

My seven year old daughter has her first cavity that needs a filling. I wanted her to have one of the newer white fillings because of the mercury content in the silver fillings. Yet, our dentist insists that children cannot have the white fillings. What puzzles me about that is I have a friend whose child has two white fillings. How is it that her child can get them if they don’t work for children?

Maggie

Dear Maggie,

My guess is that your dentist is not as comfortable placing composite (white) fillings as they are the amalgam (silver) ones. They require a completely different procedure than the old fillings he is probably used to doing. It can be particularly challenging to place them in children, but not impossible. That much is obvious to you because your friend’s child has them. What makes that such a challenge is that the material has to stay completely dry during the procedure. As children tend to be wiggly and move their tongues quite a bit, he probably thinks it won’t be possible.

I would not push your dentist into placing these on your daughter. If it isn’t done correctly it could lead to problems. Instead, I would like to suggest taking her to another dentist for this procedure who is more up to date with modern techniques. It does not necessarily need to be a pediatric dentist. It could be a general dentist who is comfortable treating children and regularly places composite fillings. Your dentist is ethically obligated to cooperate and provide whomever you go to with all the x-rays, notes, and any other diagnostics required that he already did. That would be my recommendation.

This blog is brought to you by Mount Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.