Are gold teeth bad for your health?

Gold is great for jewelry, but what about dental procedures? We asked dentistry professionals to weigh in about the pros and cons of gold in the mouth. Here’s what they had to say:

Tristan Lunsford

Lunsford is a fourth-year dental student at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry. He currently sees patients from the Detroit area full time at the dental school clinic.

Gold crowns, i.e. gold teeth, have no negative effects on your health. If they’re made effectively, they can actually last even longer than porcelain, or other types of crowns. Gold crowns are strong and resistant to wear and erosion. The gold itself also has antibacterial properties that can help prevent secondary cavities and increase the tooth’s longevity. Lastly, if they ever did need to be replaced, the gold will have resale value.

Dr. Maziar Shabestari, DDS, PhD

Maziar Shabestari is a Doctor of dental surgery from the odonatological faculty of Oslo University (2010) and a specialist in periodontology from the odontological faculty of Oslo University (2017).

The restoration could be a dental crown, inlay or onlay. Gold is one of the most precious and non-reactive metals there are. Ergo, gold doesn't corrode or rust as much as other materials like chromium or cobolt alloys, although gold used in the mouth is usually an alloy. Nonetheless, gold is the most biocompatible, long-lived metal that can be used as a dental restoration. Gold alloys are far superior to other restoration materials like amalgam, where you get a leakage of mercury in the mouth over time. Gold is considered to be the safest material for tooth restoration and the gold standard for dental repairs.

Dr. Sonal Bhoot

Dr. Sonal Bhoot is the founder of Dental Expressions. Dr. Bhoot has over 15 years of dental experience and received her doctorate in Dental Medicine (DMD) in 2003 from the New Jersey Dental School.

Like everything else, gold teeth have their pros and cons. They are less common today because of ceramic and stainless steel crowns gaining popularity.

Why gold teeth may be a bad idea:

Gold inlays or gold teeth involve chipping away a perfectly good tooth to insert the gold, destroying it in the process.
Some dentists use a fake gold material instead of genuine gold, and this can lead to excessive tooth sensitivity.
What remains of the original tooth gets discolored.
A gold filling placed next to a silver filling can cause a sharp pain due to galvanic shock and can even cause an electric current to occur when these metals contact saliva.

Even grills have their disadvantages:

Food particles trapped between them results in bacteria that cause bad breath, decay and gum diseases.
Neglecting to clean grills can cause inflammation and gum diseases.

Besides these health problems, gold is also expensive and less attractive than a tooth-colored restoration.

Gold teeth do have their pros including:

Fracture resistance
Durability
Gold teeth implants act like normal teeth, can be used to chew anything and cleaned like regular teeth.

Choose your filling wisely and well.

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