Is anyone familiar with amalgam fillings? I have read many sites that speak about the risks (pretty obvious when you know anything about Mercury), but have yet to figure out why they are still used. Furthermore, in my personal experience with a family member, the dentist was very proactive in pushing for its use.

My family member was in need of a filling, and the dentist said that he wanted to put the amalgam filling in, and it would be around $100 or so. We discussed it, and then we asked if they could put in a composite filling instead. They said that it would be around $150. No problem we said. We are paying in full in cash, so there is not a problem with insurance not wanting to cover the extra.

The dentist said that the amalgam fillings were safe, that they are a dentist and we are not, etc. We said that we are not putting a known biohazard in our mouth, and am happy to pay the EXTRA for the composite filling. They kept stalling and would not commit to doing it. We told them that if they would not do a composite instead of a mercury filling, then we would take our cash elsewhere.

They let us leave instead of putting in the composite! Is there some hidden agenda that I am unaware of? Anyone else have any stories that are similar?