Dental amalgam phase out - any dentists in the house ?
Discussion
I've got a 6 monthly check up next week at the dentist. Based on what I was was told at the last check up I'll likely need a filling on one of my teeth very soon. As an NHS patient I'll be getting the standard silver/grey amalgam with the option to go private if I want a white composite filling. The usual cost is around £250+ at my current practice for a white filling.
I did a bit of Googling to check prices elesewhere and came across a few hits re the phasing out of dental amalgam which was news to me.
https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/the-amal...
If I'm reading that right, dentists will no longer use traditional silver/grey amalgam from 1st January next year. That begs the question, will NHS patients automatically get white composite fillings from next year as dental amalgam cannot be used ?
I'll be asking my dentist when I see him but wondered if anyone else or indeed anyone in the profession can clarify ?
Thanks
I did a bit of Googling to check prices elesewhere and came across a few hits re the phasing out of dental amalgam which was news to me.
https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/the-amal...
If I'm reading that right, dentists will no longer use traditional silver/grey amalgam from 1st January next year. That begs the question, will NHS patients automatically get white composite fillings from next year as dental amalgam cannot be used ?
I'll be asking my dentist when I see him but wondered if anyone else or indeed anyone in the profession can clarify ?
Thanks
Amalgam ban is EU so no change in UK. It was going to be introduced in N Ireland (brexit regs) but there is a 10 yr exemption til 2034 now.
If it was introduced, they would use a cheaper glass ionomer rather than a composite. The problem is its not a great substitute - amalgam isnt pretty but its cheaper, quicker and performs better in general dentistry so you are looking at more failures more often. That means more time, more cost, more repairs more often so if everything else stays the same, it will just make NHS dentistry even more difficult for both dentist and patient
If it was introduced, they would use a cheaper glass ionomer rather than a composite. The problem is its not a great substitute - amalgam isnt pretty but its cheaper, quicker and performs better in general dentistry so you are looking at more failures more often. That means more time, more cost, more repairs more often so if everything else stays the same, it will just make NHS dentistry even more difficult for both dentist and patient
Kind of related to this....
I've had a few NHS fillings over the years on front teeth. Mostly the same one that needs redoing as it gets stained. These have always been colour matched to the neighbouring teeth.
Had one recently and it is almost pure white so very noticeable. Is this now the basic NHS provision of a 'white' filling? The NHS website doesn't define what a 'white' filling is but it seems they literally mean white and not tooth coloured.
Hopefully it will soon get coffee stained to match everything else.
I've had a few NHS fillings over the years on front teeth. Mostly the same one that needs redoing as it gets stained. These have always been colour matched to the neighbouring teeth.
Had one recently and it is almost pure white so very noticeable. Is this now the basic NHS provision of a 'white' filling? The NHS website doesn't define what a 'white' filling is but it seems they literally mean white and not tooth coloured.
Hopefully it will soon get coffee stained to match everything else.
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