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DENTAL AMALGAM
FILLINGS
Fillings tend to be a temporary solution rather
than
a permanent one.
Amalgam fillings (silver) are a mixture of different
metals such as 65% silver, 6% copper,2% zinc and 25% tin bound with elemental mercury.
Trituration is the process of mixing these alloys together
with mercury. The mercury
makes up between 45-50% of the mixture and acts as glue that binds these
metals into a hard stable, and safe substance that can last for decades.
These fillings usually
last 12 years or longer.
There is an increased
risk of tooth fracture in teeth with large silver mercury
fillings. Teeth are built like trees, that need to be able
to flex in the wind without breaking. Large (silver mercury)
fillings can let the tooth flex beyond the breaking point and
fracture. Also, the higher the forces on the tooth (bite
problems), the higher the risk. You should consider protecting
large old silver mercury fillings before the teeth can fracture
with crowns.
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This procedure is done by:
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First removing the decay from the
tooth.
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The tooth is then shaped in a specific
manner in order to accept this filling material.
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A band maybe placed around your tooth and
the amalgam is "condensed" in to the prepared tooth.
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The amalgam is than mixed and placed into
the tooth.
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The final filling is then carved and
adjusted to your bite.
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Benefits:
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Strong and long lasting
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They expand over time to
fill the entire space of the cavity. |
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They are quick and easy
to install. |
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They are less expensive
and more cost effective than composite or while fillings
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They are covered by
insurance.* |
Disadvantages:
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They do break down over
time. The tooth is like a glass shell, while the
mercury in an amalgam expands and contracts with
temperature change, just as it does in a thermometer.
That places pressure within the tooth. This
filling material act like chisels or like putting a nail
or screw into china causing weakening of the enamel
walls of the tooth, resulting in a tooth breakage.
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Healthy tooth structure
needs to be taken in order to lock these fillings into
lace, the whole is made larger at the bottom than at the
top. Thus the filling widens at the very place
where the tooth starts to narrow as it goes down to the
root which creates an inherent weakness in the tooth.
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As silver fillings
expand, their edges are susceptible to breaking off.
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Silver fillings leach
into the dentinal tubules inside the tooth, leaving a
permanent blue-gray halo that bleaching can not remove.
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They can leak, causing
decay underneath the filling.*
Home Care:
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Once placed, it can take up to two weeks for
your filling to harden completely. So do NOT chew on this surface for
the first 24 hours after placement until it is completely "set". You may however, safely chew on it
after 24 hours. Remember to chew carefully.
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The tooth may be sensitive to hot and cold
liquids and foods for the first four to six weeks or longer.
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Be careful not the chew or bite your lip or
gums because this area is numb. Avoid hot or spicy foods until the
numbness wears off.
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It may be difficult to make sure the bite is
correct due to being numb. If you feel the bite is "high"
don't wait...call us to have it
adjusted. Teeth can become quite sensitive if the bite is too
high. 40,000 pounds per square inch is exerted when chewing on your
back teeth which can make this area sore and tender quit quickly.
New fillings cannot stand this kind of pressure and may break.
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If you grind your
teeth, mention it to us so that the need for a protective
device can be considered to protect your fillings and teeth.
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| Avoid eating foods that may stress
fillings. Ice, hard candy and sticky foods should be eaten with
caution or avoided entirely.
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| Keep in mind that, like other sticky
foods, chewing gum may place stress on fillings.
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Brush 2 to 3 times a day, especially before
going to bed and floss once a day.
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Visit us twice a year keep your mouth in
great care.
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"Dental
amalgam is a safe, effective material for filling cavities,
according to the Centers for Disease Control, the American
Dental Association and numerous health agencies entrusted with
protecting the public's health. The only real risk these
children face is from untreated dental disease, and the
services they receive today will help protect them from
that." ADA 2004
Don't
Replace Sound Dental Restorations to Ease Chronic Health
Problems.
Minuscule amounts of mercury
vapor come out of amalgam fillings
when people chew food or brush
their teeth. What is
usually overlooked in the
mercury controversy is that
fact that some forms of
mercury are much more toxic
than others.
By far the most toxic is ethyl
mercury, the kind found in
fish like shark and
tuna. In contrast,
mercury that comes from
amalgams exists either as
elemental mercury vapor or as
tiny bits of inorganic mercury
that erode form the surface of
amalgams. Some of the
vapor is inhaled and enters
the blood stream. All
but a very small amount of this
is eliminated in urine.
People with more than 8
amalgam fillings absorb no
more than 1 to 3 micrograms of
mercury vapor per day.
There is:
| NO evidence that amalgam
fillings causes systemic diseases |
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NO evidence that replacing
fillings relieves chronic disease. |
Source: *The Silver and The White Ms. Dyett,
Beautiful Teeth 22-24 Vol2, No 2, 2004
Silver Fillings Causing
Tooth Fractures?
Silver mercury fillings that were placed years ago, before
bonding technology may need to be replaced to prevent
fractures. The silver plugged the holes in your teeth
where the cavities were, but it weakened the teeth
because it didn’t restore the molecular bonds that nature
gave the tooth in the first place. Your teeth depend on
those molecular bonds for optimal strength.No dentist can
improve upon the work of nature. However, bonded fillings
don’t just “fill the hole;” they actually restore 85% of
the strength that the tooth had before it had its first
filling. The remaining tooth structure is less likely
to flex to the point where it breaks away.
Consumer Reports on Heath, Vol 13 No.
6 pg 11 June 2001.
ADA
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