Information about "Silver Amalgam" Fillings, Our Protocol for Removing Them, and Basics Regarding Their Replacement

At Holistic Dental Arts Center, we are a "mercury-safe" office, meaning we don't use mercury amalgam fillings. We believe that all teeth filled with mercury amalgam will eventually crack or break due to the metal composition expandng. This would then require the tooth to be extracted and/or gum surgery to remove or restore the tooth.

As our practice is mercury-safe, it means we don’t place mercury amalgam fillings. Also, we implement safety measures that protect both our patients and our staff. The following is some information about the metal element mercury, fillings that have mercury amalgamated within them, how we handle their removal and the rationale for their replacement.

Some facts:

• Mercury is the most poisonous, non-radioactive, naturally occurring substance on our planet.
• It is commonly referred to as "silver amalgam" fillings, however they are actually commonly composed of only 35% silver, 50% mercury, and the rest are other metals.
• Mercury vaporizes in incremental proportions from temperatures above 68° F. Our body temperatures are around 98.6 degrees.
• Countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Austria have banned the use of mercury amalgams in pregnant women and children up to age 18.

Protocol for a patient desiring to have their mercury amalgam fillings removed/replaced:

• New patient examination, including an initial interview with the doctor.
• Many new patients are working with a health care provider and have a mercury detoxification program in place already. For those who don’t and would wish to develop one, we can recommend the most appropriate one based on your needs at the consultation appointment.

Filling removal procedures:

• Rubber dam is placed to keep filling debris from being swallowed. Isolite™ is also used sometimes. For more information, click here and/or view their introduction video.
• Fillings are kept cool with copious amounts of cold water during filling removal to minimize mercury vapor release.
• Fillings are "chunked" out, rather than being drilled away completely which results in very minute particles causing more vapor.
• High-volume evacuation is used to capture amalgam particles and mercury vapor.
• Oxygen masks for doctor's, assistant and nasal hood for patient during their removal.
• Clean up immediately after their removal - we remove and dispose of our gloves and rubber dam, and thoroughly rinse and vacuum the entire mouth for at least 10 seconds.
• Treatment room air is filtered to capture residual mercury vapor and other contaminants.

You may ask, "What material is best for their replacement?" The materials used can be influenced by several factors, such as the case of those used in manufacturing an airplane which needs to have proper form, structure, and function for successful, safe flights. The following information will assist you in understanding why this is so important. We see new patients daily who have varied concerns that prompt them to enter the Holistic Dental Arts Center family of patients, e.g., routine check-up, gum and decay problems, TMJ, head and neck pain, cosmetic concerns, teeth replacements – bridges, partials, root replacement implants, etc. as well as mercury amalgam filling removals. All who enroll begin a process that includes an initial interview with the doctor, a clinical oral examination and a complete series of radiographs. During the clinical examination, various oral health/disease parameters are investigated such as:

• Blood Pressure/heart rate recording
• Oral Cancer visual and palpation inspection
• Bite analysis – checking of functional parameters
• Tooth wear analysis
• Individual teeth inspection
• Periodontal (gum) measuring and recording bleeding areas
• Biocomp Labs Reactivity Testing (for biocompatibility)
• Intra-oral camera photographs