Concerns about toxins?

The recent concern about lead on imported toys and products from China is a warning for all of us to be concerned about our immediate environment. I am sure that you checked the packaging on gifts you gave and got for the holidays and that is a good start.

But, in your vigilance over toxic substances, don’t forget your fillings if you have old, blackened, silver (amalgam) fillings. These fillings contain unknown levels of mercury unlike modern “white” bonded composite fillings that are biologically inactive.

If you have old black fillings, they may be causing you some degree of risk due to residual levels of mercury left in them. There have been many university studies done to study the health risks of these fillings and those studies have not been able to reach any firm and consistent conclusions about the affect they have on our health.

Does that mean they are safe? Consider for yourself the fact that those same studies have raised even more questions about the safety of amalgam fillings and that they may be linked to some diseases that we still know very little about.
Consider also that when we remove old silver fillings from our patient’s teeth, we are not allowed to dispose of the old pieces and particles down the drain. We are required to catch all of this debris in special traps for hazardous waste, so as not to contaminate our environment.
Perhaps you would like to know my main concern about old silver fillings. This filling material leaks like a sieve, soon after it has been placed, thus permitting bacteria to get in between the filling and the tooth. For that reason, is it any surprise that 9 out of 10 old silver fillings that I take out have decay under them? Since x-rays don’t go through the filling material, I can’t tell if there is anything wrong or not, until the decay gets much more advanced.
This outdated material also expands and contracts with temperature changes, and leads to additional cracks and fractures in the tooth. These teeth often break again years later, needing even larger fillings, which break again, and eventually need crowns (caps) done.

We consider the condition of each person’s oral health individually. We can discuss the importance of replacing old blackened, silver (amalgam) fillings if you think it’s the right thing to do.