Safe Mercury Filling Removal Gold Coast
Do you have silver fillings in your mouth? Metal fillings, also known as mercury fillings are an amalgam (metal mixture) of several metals including silver, tin, copper and liquid mercury.
Used for decades because of low cost and ease of use at low temperatures; mercury is part of nearly all metal fillings.
After mixing with the other metals, a specific alloy called mercury amalgam is formed. Within this mercury amalgam filling is significant elemental (free) mercury within small pockets and reservoirs. Unfortunately this mercury leaches out of the mercury amalgam filling over time.
Mercury is poisonous to humans if inhaled or ingested. After years of chewing, biting, and grinding, many people are concerned about their mercury fillings and simply want them safely removed.
At Heal Dental Care, we have given careful thought to the process required to safely remove mercury amalgam fillings. Thanks to modern material advancements in white fillings like composite and ceramics we no longer place any mercury fillings and instead have vastly superior alternatives.
Is there mercury in your mouth?
There is no 'safe level' of mercury for your body.
What is mercury?
Mercury is a shiny, silver-white metal with the elemental symbol “Hg” from the Greek word hydrargyrum, which translates to “liquid silver”.
While humanity has used mercury for centuries because of its durability and conductive properties, it is an extremely toxic element that may be poisonous to humans if inhaled or ingested.
Mercury in dentistry
Mercury amalgam fillings have been used in dentistry for over 150 years to fill cavities and fight tooth decay. As previously mentioned, they are a mixture (or “amalgam”) of metals including liquid (elemental) mercury and powdered tin, copper and silver.
Despite its known health risks, elemental mercury is used because it mixes easily at room temperature, has impressive binding properties and an ability to create strong, durable “silver” fillings. Mercury amalgam fillings are cheap, reliable, resistant to decay and less technical to install than composite (white) fillings.
Concerns with mercury
Mercury is a heavy metal that can cause heavy metal toxicity. When exposed to higher than average levels of elemental mercury the following symptoms can occur:
- Tremors caused by nerve damage
- Deterioration of the liver and kidneys
- Headaches
- Difficulty sleeping
- Muscle weakness and twitching
- Impaired sensation and coordination issues
- Emotional changes like mood swings, irritability, and anxiety
- Memory loss
A major problem with mercury is that it has an extremely high affinity for the tissues of the body. This means, that once it enters the body it is absorbed into the soft tissue organs and is extremely difficult to remove or measure. Mercury accumulates over time, and it can contribute to heavy metal toxicity in the body.
High levels of mercury pose a serious risk to your overall health.
Do you have silver fillings?
Why we don’t support mercury amalgam fillings
We believe there is no “safe level” of mercury for the body. Mercury is the second most common cause of acute toxic metal poisoning after arsenic (1) and it is understood to be one of the most toxic substances in our environment. Not only are patients with amalgam fillings at risk due to the release of mercury through chewing, brushing, teeth grinding etc., but it has also been shown that dentists who use mercury fillings in dental treatments suffer more neurological effects than the average person. As more patients, like you, raise concerns about the level of mercury in their mouth our industry has had to create better mercury free materials. We have gone beyond this by adopting a safe mercury removal process that protects the patient and dental team from unnecessary mercury exposure.
In the case above the tooth was cracked after years of chewing with the mercury filling. This is quite common.Our team can remove your old silver filings and replace them with more natural-looking, white composite or ceramic restorations (fillings).
Safe mercury amalgam filling removal
Should you get your fillings removed?
We believe that those who have mercury amalgam fillings in their mouth are most certainly exposed to more risk of toxicity than those who do not. However, just like any other dental treatment, it is not as simple as just booking the procedure. Before your mercury amalgam filling removal procedure, our dentists need to consider several important factors:
- Can your tooth support its structure after drilling?
- Are your teeth sensitive?
- Can the new filling replace or improve the tooth’s previous integrity?
How we avoid mercury exposure
At Heal Dental Care, our finely tuned safe mercury amalgam filling removal procedure limits your chance of mercury ingestion or inhalation, as well as the dentists, by using specialized equipment and practised techniques. Although important, our role is NOT to provide systemic guidance with respect to heavy metal toxicity and mercury removal from the body. Our dentists will work to precisely remove the mercury fillings from your teeth in a safe manner which will significantly reduce your exposure to mercury which would otherwise occur during the removal process.
For complex cases, there are many highly experienced practitioners who we refer our patients to for careful diagnosis, systemic preparation and post removal management. There are various treatments available, but the most active intervention can include chelation using EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) and or DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic acid) while supporting the body with mineral supplements.
The procedure
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1. Isolate the tooth
During a safe mercury amalgam filling removal procedure, your holistic dentist will use high speed suction and a dental dam to catch pieces of mercury filling along with preventing you form swallowing fine particles of mercury which are produced when the filling is being drilled away.
2. Vapour suction and aerosol management
Our Flex Vac (like a vapour sucking vacuum) sucks up mercury vapour aerosol released during the procedure. You may also request additional oxygen supply during the removal for greater peace of mind.
3. Mercury amalgam removal
Special burs are used to slice through the filling rather than grinding it into a slurry of mercury amalgam and water. The filling is cut into pieces which are individually removed. This is a cleaner removal technique and limits your exposure, and your dentist’s exposure to the mercury filling.
A dental dam (a rubber shield) will be placed over your mouth exposing only the tooth to be treated. This prevents any liquids or by products of the mercury amalgam filling removal procedure from being swallowed.
4. Replacement
After the mercury amalgam removal process, we want to leave your teeth better than we found them. Often teeth with mercury fillings are weak with cracks after years of metal expansion and contraction. When the mercury filling is removed, the weak areas of the natural tooth will often crumble. We will remove unhealthy tooth structure and reinforce the remaining healthy tooth structure.
Don’t live in fear
Safe removal of mercury fillings is a highly technical process which requires a dental team who are experienced and are prepared. Don’t risk unnecessary toxic exposure, let us help you with our modern approach to dentistry. It is possible to remove old silver fillings safely. There’s no reason to worry anymore.
