Mercury Fillings

Mercury Fillings

Mercury fillings, also called “amalgam fillings” or “silver fillings” in an attempt to distract your attention away from the “mercury” component of the filling, first became popular around the time of the Civil War.

This is because mercury was cheap and easy to obtain, and the poisonous and damaging effect of mercury was not yet known. At that time, using mercury to fill cavities was the most modern technology available. This technology did save many people from loosing their teeth since it was the only option, other than extracting the tooth, if you had a large amount of decay. It served its purpose in those early days until better technology would come.

Thankfully, in the last 150 years since the Civil War, better technology HAS emerged. Not only have today's dental procedures, tools and materials advanced to a much superior degree, but also we have advanced in our knowledge and awareness of the human body and the effect of mercury on our health.

Mercury is now known to be highly toxic and poisonous. We were all taught as small children not to play with thermometers because of the danger from the mercury if we were to accidentally break it. The danger is not only from direct contact with the actual substance, but even from just breathing the vapor. We would no sooner want hot mercury poured into our mouths than we would want arsenic or lead poured in. This is the main reason why mercury fillings are typically called “amalgam fillings” or “silver fillings”. If they called them “mercury fillings”, no one would want one! In fact, these fillings contain very little silver at all and are primarily composed of mercury.

For this fact alone, the Dentists, including Dr. Jeet Datta of Sonrisa Family Dentistry in Grand Prairie, avoid the use of mercury fillings and seek instead to use more superior and healthy materials.

Here are some additional important facts regarding the use of mercury fillings:

1.Mercury has been deemed as one of the most toxic substances on earth. In fact, there is a field of science called “mercury toxicology”. These toxicologists have discovered that absolutely NO amount of mercury vapor exposure is completely harmless.
2.Amalgam or silver dental fillings do typically contain fifty percent mercury.
3.The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is a federal agency that enforces the legislation of safety and health. They have classified dental amalgam as a very toxic & hazardous waste.
4.The EPA, also know as the Environmental Protection Agency, also has classified dental amalgam as a hazardous material. Both the OSHA and the EPA have issued requirements for all amalgam removed from your teeth has to be stored in a special sealed container to prevent any unnecessary human or environmental exposure to mercury vapor.
5.Scientific research demonstrates the damage of mercury exposure, even in small amounts, to the brain, glands, enzymes, lungs, nervous system, kidneys, heart, hormones, and blood cells. It also is proven to suppress the T cells of the immune system up to One Hundred percent!
6.Mercury vapor is continuously released from amalgam fillings. It is increased up to fifteen fold during brushing, chewing, eating foods that are acidic, and drinking hot fluids. The vapor released by mercury fillings is rapidly absorbed by your body and accumulates in your tissue.
7.Mercury has been scientifically proven to pass readily through a pregnant woman's placenta and cause permanent damage to the baby's developing brain. After placing a mercury filling in a pregnant woman, mercury appears in the amniotic fluid just two days later. After a mother receives a “silver” filling, the breast milk is also laced with concentrated amounts of mercury.
8.A direct link between the levels of mercury in a person's blood, urine and stool, and the number of mercury fillings they have in their teeth, has been confirmed by the National Institute of Health.
9.In studies of human autopsies,it has been discovered that there is a direct correlation between the amount of mercury found in the brain & the number of amalgam fillings they have in the teeth. It also is interesting to note that the brains of individuals who died from Alzheimer's disease have high levels of mercury in the brain.
10.Amalgam fillings, or mercury fillings, are not able to bond directly to the teeth. This creates two different problems: First, it means that a greater amount of healthy tooth must be drilled away in order to lodge the filling in its place. Of course, this weakens the tooth unnecessarily. Secondly, it also means that, because there is not a tight bond formed between the filling and the tooth, bacteria can more easily invade that crack between the filling and the wall of the tooth. This often causes hidden decay to grow underneath the filling or alongside it.

Armed with today's advanced knowledge and safer alternatives, there is no reason why modern day dentists should be stuck using 150 year old materials that are now proven dangerous. As one of the DENTISTS in DALLAS, Dr. Jeet Datta from Sonrisa Family Dentistry in Grand Prairie, offers some outstanding alternatives to mercury fillings that are far superior and actually look like real teeth.

For smaller cavities, we offer composite resin fillings that are tooth colored, and for larger cavities there are a variety of options available, including reinforced porcelain or even resin inlays or on lays, which are custom made in a dental laboratory. These superior options are not only beautiful, matching and restoring your natural tooth, but they have another advantage which old mercury silver fillings cannot offer- they are bonded directly to the structure of your tooth. This means we can avoid having to drill away a large hole that weakens your tooth structure. It also will be more resistant to bacteria invasion since there will be no cracks between the filling and the surface of your tooth. The bond is very strong.

Yes, at Sonrisa Family Dentistry in Grand Prairie, Dr. Jeet Datta is your Dallas Dentist, committed to advanced dentistry, only using the latest state-of-the-art materials and technology. We offer fillings that are more biologically compatible and safer for the environment and your health. The dentists are not stuck in time 150 years ago. They avoid the use of mercury fillings and promote the use of safer, more cosmetic and more effective materials. Look no further- Call Dr. Datta today and only trust your teeth AND your health to the dentist in Dallas! dentist in Dallas, dentist in Grand Prairie, Dallas dentist, Grand Prairie dentist, dentist, Dallas dentists, grand prairie dentists, dentists in Dallas, dentists in Grand Prairie.