How long should the metallic taste from new silver dental fillings last?
Three weeks ago I had a silver filling put in. Initially the metallic
taste from the new filling was very strong. It subsided but a week
after the tooth was filled I could still notice a slight metallic taste
from the filling. At that time I went in to have another filling and I
asked my dentist about the taste. My concern was that there might be
something wrong with the filling or the amalgam material and that
mercury might therefore be "leaking" from the filling. I looked at the
filling in the mirror and noticed that it seemed less silvery than my
older fillings, sort of like the difference between a bad solder joint
and a good solder joint if you know what that looks like — the old
fillings looked like polished silver while the new filling looked sort
of like metallic paint.
My dentist assured me that the silver amalgam material he uses is the
best available, it is made by Johnson and Johnson and it has a reduced
mercury content. He said that the metallic taste would go away. He
then put in a second mercury filling and polished the first filling.
(I think he also put some sort of coating on the fillings to reduce the
metallic taste but I’m not sure of this.) Even after polishing, the
new fillings look very different from my old silver fillings.
It’s been 2 weeks since the last filling and the slight metallic taste
is still there. I am still concerned. I do not remember the metallic
taste lasting so long from older fillings, but it’s been a long time so
I could be mistaken.
My questions: How long should the metallic taste last? Should I be
concerned? Has anyone out there had any similar experiences. Does
anyone know anything about this new type of silver amalgam — problems,
etc.?
Tom Yelton
t…@inmet.inmet.com
In article <17600014@inmet>, t…@inmet.inmet.com writes:
>
> How long should the metallic taste from new silver dental fillings last?
>
A Silver filling is a "POLY-EUTECTIC SOLID SOLUTION" consisting of Silver,Tin,
Mercury and most alloys today have some degree of Copper plus a few other
elements added for handling and long term properties. As a solution – there
are complexes formed of Silver-Mercury (the stongest and most desireable),
Silver-tin, Silver-Copper, tin-Mercury (the weakest and most likely to
corrode), tin-copper … Well you get the idea. The ratios of these complexes
continue to change for quite a long time (read – YEARS). The greatest changes
occur in the first 24 hours. The lighter colour of the Alloy is very normal.
It will change in time to match the others. (Older silver restorations did not
have the Copper in them and would corrode and turn almost black).
The Mettallic taste can take a variable amount of time to go away,
depending on many variables, not the least of which are:
1) the ph of your saliva.
2) the types of other restorations in your mount, especially ones that
come in contact with the new one.
3) the mineralization of your saliva. (remember that two dislike
metals in a salt solution = a battery !)
4) Your diet – (how acidic, how corrosive (eggs are very high in
sulfides ((as well as cholesterol)))
5) Your Oral Hygiene – (How well are you keeping that acid producing
plaque off of those restorations?"
So you see, there is no simple answer to how long — usually within 1 month
all taste alteration and galvanic reactions have disapeared. Some people
reading this will have the other extreme of never having a mettalic taste after
an hour of leaving the dental office. – Relax, it will go away
S o o n
– jrk
Chances are I may or may not have answered your question!