At Pro Health Dental we provide mercury-free fillings in order to provide a safe and worry-free environment for our valued patients. We all have started to worry about the world around us. More and more, we try to incorporate those healthy decisions into our lives that have a positive impact on ourselves, on others, and our environments. You have to value your health. If you don’t have your health, nothing else really matters much, does it?
If you’re concerned about you and your family’s health, then we’d like to point something important out to you. This article is about dental amalgam, and why you should choose a dentist who offers mercury-free fillings.
What is amalgam?
Amalgam is a material used for filling cavities. It’s carried in most dental offices. Many practitioners refer to amalgam fillings as “silver” fillings, which sometimes misleads the consumer. But that’s why we’re here, to give you the facts. Amalgam is actually made up of nearly 50% mercury.
Mercury is a known neurotoxin, a toxin that is poisonous or destructive to the nerve tissue, which can adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissues. A tiny, little dental filling may seem like too small amount of mercury to have a negative effect, but it turns out that American dental offices are second in mercury use in our nation. Once implanted in the mouth, dental amalgam releases this toxin into your body. The mercury used in amalgam fillings can provide detrimental effects to our bodies and our environment.
Health Risks
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told the FDA that they had a responsibility to warn consumers about the dangers of amalgam, especially when it comes to the danger it poses to children. Dental amalgam can in some cases be contributed to neurological problems, brain disease, and also immune deficiency diseases in dental patients.
Amalgam fillings are also subject to rising and falling of temperature. This can cause the metal to expand, shrink, or warp in severe weather conditions, whether hot or cold. This can lead to small, painful cracks in your fillings.
Amalgam also requires proper handling when disposing. The EPA has concluded that a percentage of dental mercury eventually ends up in our own water sources. Rivers and lakes are adversely affected, endangering wildlife that rely on these sources of water for sustenance.
Benefits of Mercury Free Dentistry
Mercury free dentistry explores healthier, safer alternatives to mercury. Composite fillings are a safer alternative that is being explored by progressive dental offices around the country like Pro Health Dental.
You have the power to choose a dentist who believes in taking care of clients and the environment, all while running a successful business. You can feel good about knowing that you’ve made the right choice in addition to these other health benefits:
- Crowns are made with beautiful porcelain to correct larger amounts of decay.
- Fillings are made with a completely environmentally and biologically safe, toxin-free epoxy resin.
- Composite fillings will protect your teeth against future cracks.
- Composite fillings and crowns can be matched to your original tooth color for a more natural look and finish.
- Help contribute to the effort to save national wildlife and American water sources.
By choosing Pro Health Dental, you are choosing a mercury free environment. You are helping your family’s health as well as your surrounding world. If you have any lingering questions or concern about amalgam, composite or other dental materials, please contact us today.
