Are Amalgam Fillings Safe?

amalgam filling removal

Are Amalgam Fillings Safe?

The short answer is, No Amalgam Fillings are not safe.  There are materials available that perform better in the human mouth than Amalgam Fillings, such as Dental Composites.  Composite aka Bondings or Tooth Colored Filling material do not contain Mercury or any other toxic substance.  Dental Composites also bond directly to teeth and do not expand over time as do Amalgams.  The truth is Amalgam is used to save a very small amount of money in  certain settings such as the military or large Dental Insurance based clinics.

Amalgams leak Mercury vapor into the oral cavity from the day they are placed.  The patient is exposed the most Mercury at the time of Amalgam Placement and Removal.  Once a Mercury Filling is placed the question is “should I remove my silver fillings?”  Most people who have Mercury Fillings in their mouth are not sick.  Mostly because they can detox the amount of Mercury being leached and leaked into their body by the Amalgams.  In certain cases the mercury toxicity from the Amalgams can become problematic.  For example, if the person has Lyme Disease or a gene linked to a decreased ability to detox or remove heavy metal contaminants.  In certain individual as these, Mercury exposure in Dental Amalgams may be enough to cause toxicity and heavy metal poisioning.

We recommend every patient have their Amalgams evaluated. Most Silver Fillings are several years old and may need replacement for normal preventative reasons. If a patient has an Amalgams in good repair, is not experiencing any toxic symptoms, and the patient does not clench their teeth, we recommend not removing the filling until it is dentally necessary. Most Amalgams are older than 10 years. Amalgam Filling manufactures suggest replacing the fillings because the Mercury alloy is not stable beyond 10 years and will begin to break down releasing higher concentrations of Mercury gas into the oral cavity. Amalgam Fillings should never be placed or removed in pregnant women, the elderly, or young children.


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