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Silver Fillings Are the Best Thing Ever… Unless Mercury Is Killing Us All
When we asked dentists about amalgam restorations, 66% said they tell patients that they have other cosmetic options. Another 22% tell patients about potentially safer options; many of these dentists no longer use any amalgams at all. However, 12% say they prefer placing amalgams.
Here are some dentist comments on the subject:
- “They were great 20th century restorations. Luckily, we are in the 21st century.” (Illinois dentist)
- “Amalgam fillings last much longer than composite. It is a travesty to not offer amalgams at all.” (Canada dentist)
- “I stopped doing amalgams 24 years ago. I would not place something in a patient’s mouth that the government does not allow in their sewer systems.” (Pediatric dentist)
- “It’s a safe, cost-effective restoration. If it’s banned, the cost of dentistry would increase and the poor would be the most to suffer.” (New York dentist)
- “They crack teeth and look ugly.” (Texas dentist)
- “Mercury poison causes mercury poison symptoms. To my knowledge, amalgam fillings never have. They try to blame amalgams on every disease under the sun. Why do people without fillings get the same diseases?” (Kentucky dentist)
- “It should be outlawed.” (Nevada dentist)
- “If you had a tooth-colored filling with the same characteristics as amalgam, few would use composite.” (Illinois dentist)
- “It is malpractice to tell the average patient who has no allergies to the components in amalgam that these restorations are a threat to their health. Patients have a right to a choice, but that choice needs to be based not on the dentists’ bias but on facts.” (Pennsylvania dentist)
- “Problem is: why should we have raw mercury in our offices? If there is a spill you need a Haz Mat team to clean it up and a risk to the staff with possible legal consequences.” (California dentist)
Read the complete dental amalgam survey results or post your own comments
Post a comment
April 16th, 2008 at 6:04 am
This is really a tempest in a tea pot, caused by alot of pseudo scientific thought. Even the dentist are making wild assumptions about the toxicity. We need a cradel to grave study, with a large sample and then compare. This should put this topic to rest.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:18 am
If we judged amalgam as harshly as we judge composite. No one would have an amalgam filling over 2 years old. No, they do not crack teeth, directly. Cracking is caused by hyperfuncion, in conjuction with the weakening of caries and over restoring (which one has to do with amalgam). Has any one ever heard of a preventive amalgam. Why not get the desease before it needs a restoration that must as a rule have extention for prevention!! Why then does amalgam get so little (relative) secondary decay?? Silver oxide is the salt of a heavy metal, deadly to bacteria in the interface of tooth and amalgam. This new generation of composite will last a long time. When there is a bond failure you can see it and interceed. If your patients do not come in for recall, nothing you do will prevent their perio, fractured teeth, and failed amalgams. There is an old saying,”every good amalgam grows up to be a crown.” If you protect your patients from hyperfunction they will not fracture teeth, if get to their decay before you would in good concious maserate their teeth with a too-large restoration (amalgam). If you promise yourself you’ll never again say, “well, we’ll just watch it for now.” you will see the best restorative material is what we call composite based. (I suppose at this point say I’m not so thrilled about porcelain for anything but maxillary veneers either. We’ll see in the next few years how many opposing teeth Cerac and the like have distroyed.)
Simply stated mercury and silver oxide have no place in the biologic system.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
What do you do about “LEAT”? Least Expensive Alternate Treatment. When an insurance company will pay a composite as an amalgan and the patient’s co-pay is double. I feel they should be informed and given the option. No one spends my money without my consent. Why should they?
December 30th, 2008 at 4:59 am
I’ve got very good academic credentials in biology and research with intensive training in statistical inference – so I would KNOW, but then I’d have to be blind NOT to know that the mercury in amalgams (combined with that in vaccinations) has wrought severe and lasting damage of the most tragic kind and degree to myself and family… dentists/doctors/politicians, quit lying to yourselves and your victims…