We have many reasons for this, and the extreme toxicity of elemental mercury is just one of them.
While silver-mercury fillings were the staple for dental restorations in the 20th century and were the only way to predictably fill a cavity, today we know that they were not the best materials or the safest either. There is long-standing research in the dental literature from the last 20+ years that shows that minute amounts of mercury are released as the patient chews on these fillings, and that most of it is ingested. Moreover, the use of mercury fillings over a period of years has shown that it does not bond to the surrounding tooth in which it is placed. On the contrary, there is a definite gap present between the silver filling and the tooth. This micro-gap quickly fills up with plaque and bacteria and leads to ‘recurrent decay’ , or filling failure. Many times, the filling is lost along with a major chunk of tooth along with it. Most times this ‘recurrent decay’ is detected by the dentist during a dental exam and patients are unaware that they have an old mercury filling that is doing more harm than good. Take a look at the photos below that show the failure of silver amalgams around the margins, and it’s subsequent replacement with a composite filling.
Old failing silver mercury filling
New composite filling in an hour!
A tooth is a hard live tissue and as such has a living pulp within it, that is the tender soft part of the tooth, aka ‘the nerve’ of the tooth.. The nerve is to be protected at all costs, as any irritation leads to severe pain or an impending root canal treatment. The mercury fillings pose a constant toxic leak of mercury oxides and sulphides that slowly irritate the dental pulp, sometimes leading to the death of the nerve, and with no immediate symptoms or indications. Often these old silver fillings cause the back teeth in which they are placed to develop cracks and fracture lines, along which teeth shatter unexpectedly under routine chewing pressure. Old silver fillings also cause the tooth to look grey and unsightly, a result of recurrent decay or oxidation of the material itself.
Mercury free dentistry or mercury safe dentistry is not a fad or a fashion statement. It is a set of protocol set forth by many national and international bodies for dentists who do not place any mercury in their patients’ mouths, but routinely have to get these removed and replaced with more safer options, including composites. Replacing old silver mercury fillings must be done by adequately trained dentists and under special care and precautions so as there is minimal if any swallowing or breathing in of mercury vapor. We use a very high power suction machine to make sure you do not swallow any particles nor breathe in any mercury vapors. We remove the old fillings in chunks rather than grind it down. We always keep the area cool using a powerful water spray. Often, we will use a rubber dam to isolate teeth for the process, that further enhances isolation of the toxic materials. Usually, we take ‘Before-and-after’ photos to show you our work as well. And since we are an environmentally conscious office, this silver amalgam powder is collected from our suction lines by a special machine that prevents it from going down the drain, from where it would eventually enter Lake Ontario. It is collected safely and disposed according to Environment Canada guidelines. Hence, we are doing our part in reducing mercury levels in our Great Lakes.
In my opinion the days of silver-mercury fillings in teeth have passed, and like Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and other European countries, we should put a permanent ban on placing of these restorations that ultimately cause more harm than good. Whether silver mercury fillings cause Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, ‘mercury poisoning syndrome’ or other serious problems in the patient is debatable; what is certain is that mercury is a potent neurotoxin and I wouldn’t want it in my mouth, when the alternatives are so much better. -Vipul G Shukla, DDS. June 2011.