HERE’S THE STORY ABOUT MERCURY / SILVER FILLINGS
First of all, there’s no recognized consensus on health hazards posed by dental amalgams in the mouth. No study yet made links tooth repair materials to liver dyscrasias, bodily dysfunction, multiple sclerosis, autism, or any systemic disease. Insurance companies maintain it is safe and cheap, and base their fee schedules around it.
But double-blind studies have not been performed because people won’t volunteer to be study groups. And insurance companies have their own agendas, which do not usually encourage better materials, techniques, or esthetics.
Federal regulations demand materials that produce bacteria-fighting corrosive action in small gaps between filling and tooth. Thing is, mercury / silver materials don’t know when to stop corroding, and as the action continues, the metal expands. This is why older fillings often seem higher than surrounding tooth enamel. When the metal expands enough, it either breaks itself or the tooth. In all our experience, aside from trauma, the only teeth we’ve ever seen crack have been filled with mercury-based material.
Mercury-based restorations served a purpose when they were developed 160 years ago; life expectancy of the average American was under 40 years then. But today, far better materials exist – materials that mimic tooth structure in function and appearance, that don’t conduct temperature, that release no bad by-products into the mouth, that won’t crack or discolor teeth.
Today, materials like bonded porcelains or composites restore beauty and vibrancy to teeth, but don’t corrode or expand with time. And glass ionomers release decay-arresting fluoride, and encourage demineralization of the teeth. Just to name a few.
We won’t settle for mercury / silver anymore. You don’t have to either.
