One of the controversies in modern dentistry today involves a campaign for mercury-free fillings.
Dental fillings are usually made of amalgam, and unfortunately dental amalgam also contains mercury.
The Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry cites many potential dangers of dental amalgam, such as:
- It damages the teeth because it requires the removal of healthy tooth matter. Amalgam fillings also expand and contract over time, which cracks the teeth further.
- Amalgam also emits mercury vapor even after it’s implanted. Mercury is a recognized health risk, and despite the disagreement about the dangers of the mercury vapor, the US FDA concedes that children and fetuses are more susceptible to the toxic effects of this chemical.
Meanwhile, numerous studies offer conflicting reports about the dangers of mercury in fillings. In 2013, the Minamata Convention on mercury, a treaty agreed by the UN Environmental Programme, pledged to reduce mercury use worldwide, including in dentistry. Most studies show link between amalgam and health problems, but the main exception here are 3% of people who are allergic to mercury and who may get skin rashes and mouth sores.
The scientific committee of the European Commission also stated that there’s no evidence that dental amalgam is dangerous to people’s health, but it shouldn’t be used by pregnant women and children under 6. In Nordic countries such as Sweden, the use of amalgam for dental fillings has been almost totally phased out.
If you need dental fillings, you aren’t limited to using amalgam that contains mercury. Other mercury-free fillings can be used instead. Composite fillings can be used, and they also have the added benefit of matching the hue of your natural teeth. That makes them more attractive and natural than silver or amalgam fillings, and perhaps much safer as well.
Most experts agree that it’s not a good idea to drill out the amalgam fillings you already have and replace them with composite materials instead. That would just mean the loss of additional amounts of healthy tooth material, and the drilling process exposes you to more mercury vapor.
But if you’re getting new fillings, perhaps it’s prudent to just avoid fillings that contain mercury. Call us today and we can discuss with you some safer alternatives. Whether or not the mercury in these fillings are dangerous, here at Coastal Smiles, we know it’s better to be safe than sorry.