Most of us have at least one amalgam filling – some have many more – and the fillings are widely used in the UK.

But since January their use has been banned in the EU because the metal is ‘highly toxic to humans and the environment’.

While this ruling does not apply in the UK, dentists here who specialise in the removal of amalgam fillings are reporting increasing numbers of people seeking to have theirs taken out.

And Good Health has discovered that record numbers of dentists are now offering amalgam filling removal services – up from a handful just five years ago to more than a hundred who mention it on their practice websites.

But at a cost of around £80 for each filling, or up to £200 for newer techniques, it’s expensive, has potential risks – and is it even necessary?

Amalgam fillings are made of 50 per cent mercury – the rest is a mix of silver, copper and tin. Amalgam has been used to fill teeth since 1826 and almost 90 per cent of adults in the UK have at least one such filling.

But the EU says they should no longer be used as ‘exposure to high levels of mercury can cause harm to the brain, lungs, kidneys and immune system’.

However, according to the NHS, although amalgam fillings ‘can release low levels of mercury vapour, particularly when they are put in or removed, there is no evidence that exposure to mercury from amalgam fillings has any harmful effects on health’.

The British Dental Association takes a similar line, saying that amalgam has been used safely for more than a hundred years – and that the mercury ingested over time is too low to cause any health problems unless someone has an allergy or is sensitive to mercury.

Indeed most people with amalgam fillings have less than 5 micrograms of mercury per litre of urine because mercury is flushed from the body over time, reducing by half every three months, according to the Oral Health Foundation.

The maximum permitted level of exposure to mercury for industrial workers is around 135 micrograms per litre in the US, which is considered safe by medical authorities.

‘The EU ban on dental amalgam does nothing to change the fact it remains a safe and effective filling material for patients across the UK,’ says Eddie Crouch, a dentist and chair of the British Dental Association. ‘In the UK, at least, sanity reigns. If your existing amalgam filling cracks then yes, get it removed and replaced. Just don’t do it off the back of this ban.’

Ben Atkins, an NHS dentist and president of the Oral Health Foundation, agrees: ‘Generally, mercury only gets released when amalgam fillings are fitted or removed. I’m a 1970s child and I have them in my mouth. I wouldn’t rush to get them replaced.'

Amalgam fillings are quick to place and low cost, adds Eddie Crouch, meaning ‘a total phase-out risks leaving millions of high-need, low-income patients without options’.

However, other dentists, including James Goolnik from Optimal Dental Health in London, aren’t convinced. ‘When we remove a filling, we are not allowed to just put it in a bin, we can’t flush it down the sink,’ he says. ‘It has to be in a special container and has to be taken away as contaminated waste.

‘I wouldn’t want something in my mouth that had to be put away in a contaminated waste.’

James Goolnik and others argue there are safer materials such as composite resin, glass ionomer cement (glass powder) and porcelain. But what about removing the amalgam fillings you already have? This carries its own potential risks.

They need to be removed with care: while the mercury in a filling slowly leaks out over time, most exposure comes when the fillings are applied or removed, as this can release mercury particles into the blood and mercury vapour can be breathed in.

The Food and Drug Administration in the US warns against removing amalgam fillings unless medically necessary because of the release of mercury vapour during the process, potentially resulting in problems with sleeping, fatigue, memory issues as well as an increased risk of anxiety and depression.

A study in the journal Environmental Health in 1998 found that mercury concentrations in blood were raised by 32 per cent 48 hours after amalgam removal, though went back to normal levels within 88 days.

Yet the EU ruling has clearly worried some. Since its announcement, Asif Hamid, a dentist and clinical director at Prive Clinics, says from having two to three queries per year about removal, he now has five or six patients asking for this per month.

Jeff Amos, a dentist at The Clinic in Brighton, says: ‘People are coming over from Spain and driving up from Devon to get them replaced.’

Jack Grainger, 45, a retail manager from London, has just had one of his seven amalgam fillings (in place since his twenties) removed after reading about the EU ruling.

‘I was waking up in the middle of the night panicking that I was slowly poisoning myself,’ he says.

‘This stuff is in my mouth and is going into my body on a daily basis. It might be a small amount, but I’m worried about it accumulating over time in my blood and organs. Does it cause Alzheimer’s, or bladder and kidney issues?’

Jack was worried about the mercury vapour and particles released during the removal procedure, so opted to use a dentist who offers safe mercury amalgam removal technique (Smart).

During the procedure the patient has a rubber dam in their mouth (a thin sheet that separates the tooth being removed from the rest of the mouth to stop any bits of mercury being swallowed), and breathes through an oxygen mask – while a high-powered suction is used to prevent mercury vapour escaping.

The procedure costs from £200 for each tooth and it can take 40 minutes to an hour to remove and replace each filling with a white one.

Jack decided to have one filling at the front of his mouth removed to test the technique. He also took a mercury urine test (purchased online) before and after, for while dentists using Smart say this isn’t necessary, he wanted to be sure: ‘If the test showed I hadn’t been exposed to more mercury, then I’d go back and get the rest of them removed,' he says.

‘What reassured me during the procedure was that I felt I’d entered a contamination-free zone. I felt really well protected.’

The mercury test was normal, ‘so I’m definitely going back to have them all replaced’.

He says having the amalgam removed is also giving him peace of mind: ‘I feel less anxious now.’