I have a bit of a dilemma here. I'm nursing my 17 month old DD. I have a small mercury amalgam filling in one tooth that has been bothering me off and on for about 2 years. The filling is very old and cracked. When the filling doesn't bother me, it's because I chew on the other side of my mouth.

Here's my dilemma: I will probably be either pregnant or nursing for the next several years as we plan to have at least 2 more children. I know it's not recommended to have mercury fillings messed with while pregnant or nursing, but what do I do in a situation where I'm likely to have to do something about this filling sooner rather than later? I doubt it's good for my jaw to chew primarily on one side. I'm afraid if I try to put off having the filling replaced, it'll start really bothering me at a really bad time, like when I'm pregnant or nursing a small baby. I'd feel more comfortable getting it replaced while nursing a toddler who's not nursing as frequently and not as developmentally vulnerable as an unborn or newborn baby.

Thoughts?

I don't have any answers but a similar situation. I'm breastfeeding my almost six month old daughter and have a cavity in the only tooth with an amalgam filling. It hurts everyday and I need to get it taken care of but don't know how this will affect my baby. I'd love to be pointed in the direction of some reliable information.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=50660&highlight=amalgam

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=516231&highlight=amalgam

http://neonatal.ama.ttuhsc.edu/discus/messages/53/672.html

http://www.kellymom.com/health/chemical/mercury.html

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=241750

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=457456&highlight=amalgam

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=TSHB,TSHB:2007-12,TSHB:en&q=amalgam+removal+breastfeeding

I had a lot of amalgam fillings replaced with composite when I was pg with #3. I didn't think anything of it until I ran into some research after he was born. I called my dental hygienist sister in an absolute panic that I had OD'd my baby on mercury. :gloomy:

She told me that the mercury is constantly leaking as soon as it is put in. Esp. when eating or chewing gum. Since the mercury can't regenerate itself it begins to wear down and crack. So if the filling is old and cracked there likely isn't much mercury left to worry about.

Here's a good website about how to get the safest removal http://http://www.mercuryfreenow.com/freeservices/amalremov.html

Spewie-My understanding was that amalgam fillings are about half mercury. So for there not to be much mercury left, about half the volume would have to be gone. Maybe I misunderstood what I read, but I think they'll keep leaching as long as they're there--they leach in the microgram region each day (I can't get a firm number, I've seen as low as 3mcg per day and as much as 50-100 mcg if the filling is large or in really bad shape, or with multiple fillings), but when you consider a filling that may be a gram or two in weight, micrograms can leach each day for a long time before the filling seems visibly smaller.

Like I said, I'm really new to this topic. For me, I think I am going to have my amalgam fillings replaced with composite in about 6 months, and I'm actually going to wean my son before I get them out. I don't feel comfortable with all the mercury that will likely then be moving around my body after the removal. He'll be about 20 mos old at that point, and although younger than I had thought he'd be when we quit nursing, I feel it's the better of the options for us.

oops, waking baby. bye! :D