Daryl E. Malena DDS  Periodontics
10838 Old Mill Road
Omaha, Nebraska 68154
402 330 4100

Yes! Tattoos in the mouth, and it isn't (not yet anyway) a new fad.  In fact, odds are good that you may even have one yourself.  Silver amalgam filling material sometimes accidentlly gets left just under the surface of the gingiva when deep fillings are placed.  This is perfectly safe, but with time the silver amalgam spreads in the tissue and looks like a blue tattoo.  

In some cases silver amalgam is intentionally left under the tissue as in the case of a surgical root canal treatment called apicoectomy.  In recent years this procedure has changed and a white, non-metallic filling material is used that does not leave tattoos.  However, some of the older apical fillings have left very large tattoos.  These are almost never removed, unless it shows in the smile, and then everyone wants it removed.

Amalgam tattoo removal is done by removing the stained tissue and the deeper residues of old silver filling.  Then the area is covered with a skin graft from the palate.  Fortunately we are very good at covering up the donor site on the palate (otherwise it would feel like a huge pizza burn!) and the procedure does not differ much from other free gingival grafts. 

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