Dentistry Query viz Thyroid

[SilverSavvy]

Hello...has anyone got any advice on whether it is okay for us hypos to have gold as a crown in dentistry?

My dentist is trying to save what is left of a big molar after a large, old (amalgam) filling broke up on some food recently. Because there is not much tooth surface left for a filling to hold onto they are recommending a gold crown instead of ceramic as they feel it will stay on better and therefore last much longer. The fact that it is gold only adds £50-£60 to the cost apparently so it's longevity vs short term cost.

Bit nervous that gold/metal of any kind might be an issue with the thyroid? I'd rather go for the long term option tho as I am nearly phobic about going to the dentist anyway...

[Summerlove]

Hi there

I am not aware of any contraindications with gold crowns and thyroid. What I can tell you is that I had one for same reason as you over 30 years ago and it’s still ok. They don’t last forever but 30 years is good going

[SilverSavvy in reply to Summerlove]

Thank you Summerlove...great to know...thirty years will likely see me out

[asiatic in reply to SilverSavvy]

In case you live a bit longer you might be reassured that mine was done 55 years ago and still going strong 😁

[SilverSavvy in reply to asiatic]

Even better news!!! Thank you for that.

[jimh111]

Gold is very inert so it should be OK.

[SilverSavvy in reply to jimh111]

Thanks jimh111...that's useful too

[Bertwills]

Do you have other amalgam fillings? I have just had all mine replaced with ceramic as I was experiencing pain in my face. I still have 2 large gold fillings. I did this as I read that a mix of metals in your mouth, in combination with saliva, can cause an electrical charge to run through your teeth.

My mainstream dentist said “rubbish” but now the mercury fillings have gone, so has the pain. I think if you have mercury fillings still I’d be cautious & use ceramic. I’m having a ceramic crown fitted today as one of my molars was cracked after the amalgam was removed.

[SilverSavvy in reply to Bertwills]

Oh dear, I do have other amalgam fillings. And they don't want to replace them until the teeth in question have problems as they say the worst risk with amalgam is during insertion or removal. I am glad your pain has gone but this is really worrying news. Thank you for sharing. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?

[Sat2 in reply to Bertwills]

Mercury is used to extract gold from rock and so, knowing absolutely nothing about the subject I would be concerned that probably a mercury compound and gold in a damp environment could affect one or the other or both. as I say I don't know for sure but I would be doing a lot more research before having a gold filling along with mercury amalgam fillings.

[Bertwills in reply to Sat2]

That’s extremely interesting. I wish I’d known that years ago. It makes it more likely that having both metals in your mouth would not be stable.

My pain used to feel like electric tingling through my cheeks & lower front teeth. Not fun at all. Thank you for your useful reply

[Sat2 in reply to Bertwills]

if you have two dissimilar metals and an electrolyte (saliva) you will get a battery and so a voltage between the metals, gold and mercury are very similar and so I guess the voltage will be extremely small but I don't know what that voltage would be.

This gives an insight into gold mining with mercury.

cnlitereagent.com/news/merc...

As the mercury in fillings is already an amalgam Im not sure if the mercury is now complete inert or if it can still have an effect on the gold.

[caledoniancat]

Unfortunately, the gold crown I had done over 30yrs ago only lasted about a year before it came out. So I had it replaced with post and amalgam that is still going strong. Also had a white filling on another tooth just pre-pandemic that fell out in first lock down, so back to amalgam with that too.

[SilverSavvy in reply to caledoniancat]

That's not great news at all The filling that has broken/fallen out of my tooth is amalgam and only 7 years old so I'm not inclined to have another in it's place. For both reasons. So I guess it's just a question of gold or ceramic crown now. So difficult to decide... Dentist says gold for longevity but I hate the idea of it causing electrical problems as per poor Bertwill's experience...gah!

[Bertwills]

My amalgam fillings were removed by a specialist dentist. I really worried about it for years before having it done. So glad I eventually did it,

Many alternative health practitioners insist that mercury leaks from fillings. You don’t need to have your amalgam removed but I would avoid any chance of the pain I had by choosing ceramic every time now. Mainstream dentists are very dismissive about amalgam fillings risks. & mixed metal. Gaslighting us again?

[RedApple Administrator]

I've had a gold crown for at least eight years now. Never caused any issues for me as far as I'm aware.

[Mickeydooley]

I was told by my dentist that ceramic crowns were better than gold as they are same hardness (density?) as natural teeth, whereas gold is harder substance and if you grind, as I do, the gold will put undue pressure on the opposing tooth and cause fractures. I had my gold crowns removed and replaced with ceramic and have been fine for years.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I'd forgotten that amalgam was still being done then.

The dentist I ended up using when I moved stopped all amalgam before then. They specialise in children - for whom amalgam was legally banned in the UK in 2018. Though many dentists had stopped at least for special patient groups some time before the law came into force.