Old Silver Fillings: Should You Replace Your Amalgam Fillings?
- Star Light Dental
- April 16, 2026
- [email protected]
If you grew up in Australia before the 2000s, there is a good chance you have a few silver fillings. Every so often a headline or a social media post suggests they are poisoning you and should all be removed. It is one of the questions dentists are asked most.
The honest answer is less dramatic. A sound amalgam filling is usually best left alone, but old fillings do wear out, and there are good reasons to replace the ones that have.
1. What Is Amalgam, and Is It Safe?
Dental amalgam is a metal alloy of silver, tin and copper bound together with mercury into a hard, stable material. It has been used for more than 150 years because it is strong, long lasting and forgiving to place.
The mercury is the part that worries people. Health authorities around the world, including in Australia, have reviewed the evidence repeatedly and concluded that amalgam fillings are safe for the general population. The amount of mercury vapour released by an intact filling is tiny and well below levels linked to harm.
2. Why Removing Sound Fillings Is Not Recommended
Drilling out an amalgam filling releases far more mercury vapour in a few minutes than the filling would have released in years of sitting quietly in the tooth. It also removes healthy tooth structure, because every replacement filling is a little larger than the one before.
So replacing fillings that are still doing their job, purely as a precaution, does more harm than good. No reputable dental or health organisation recommends it.
3. When an Old Filling Should Be Replaced
- It is cracked or broken, or a piece has come away.
- There is a gap at the edge. Bacteria leak in and decay starts underneath, where you cannot see or feel it.
- Decay shows under or beside it on an X-ray.
- The tooth around it is cracking. Large amalgam fillings can act like a wedge, and a cusp can shear off.
- There is pain on biting or lingering sensitivity.
- A true allergy, which is rare and usually shows as a persistent sore patch on the cheek or tongue next to the filling.
Amalgam fillings commonly last 10 to 15 years and often much longer, but none last forever. Checking their edges is a routine part of every check-up.
4. What About Replacing Them for Looks?
That is a perfectly reasonable choice, as long as you go in with accurate expectations. If a dark filling bothers you when you laugh, it can be replaced with a tooth-coloured one. We will tell you honestly if the existing filling is sound and what the trade-off is, and the decision is yours.
5. The Replacement Options
- Composite resin. A tooth-coloured material bonded directly to the tooth, suitable for small and medium fillings. See our dental fillings page.
- Porcelain inlays and onlays. Made to fit, for larger cavities where a direct filling would not be strong enough.
- Crowns. When so little tooth is left that it needs to be held together.
When an amalgam filling is removed, strong suction and careful technique keep your exposure to a minimum.
6. Who Should Avoid New Amalgam Fillings?
Amalgam use is being phased down worldwide, mainly for environmental reasons, and most fillings placed today are tooth coloured. As a precaution, regulators advise using alternatives where practical for pregnant and breastfeeding women, young children, and people with kidney disease or a known sensitivity to mercury.
That advice is about placing new fillings. It is not a reason to remove existing ones, and removal is best avoided during pregnancy unless it is genuinely necessary.
Wondering About Your Old Fillings?
The only way to know whether a filling is still sealing the tooth is an examination and, where needed, an X-ray. Book a check-up at Star Light Dental in Prestons and we will go through your fillings one by one and tell you which, if any, need attention. Call (02) 9432 2833 or book online.