When dentists are questioned about amalgam restoration in recent survey, 66% told their patients that they have other cosmetic dentistry options. 22% on the other hand, tell their patients on safer and better options but many of them doesn’t use amalgams at all. In contrary though, dentists prefer filling in amalgams. As conducted in the survey, dentists also call amalgam restorations as silver fillings though there are many other terms that they can use for it.

This just proves that a number of dentists still think that mercury fillings are absolutely safe. One thing about amalgam that makes it pretty much anomalous is that it is seen as an old-fashioned material used in dental fillings.

As was mentioned in the last post, dental amalgam has its pros and cons. The cons is a controversial one at best.

Mercury is a toxic substance. A lot of people have been wondering why such a poisonous substance be placed inside one’s mouth. There have been a lot of critics against the usage of mercury because according to them it causes quire a lot of health problems like the ones listed below:

1. Hair loss
2. Gum disease
3. Migranes
4. Poor memory
5. Depression
6. Anxiety
7. Mental lethargy
8. Chronic fatigue
9. Eczema
10. Asthma
11. Arthritis
12. Backaches
13. Kidney Diseases
14. Etc.

It seems that it’s all traced to the mercury content. The American dental association thinks its safe still.Various states in the U.S. are already thinking about banning its use.

We’ll update you on news regarding this debate soon.

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]Though there are no proofs of dental amalgam’s toxicity, a precautionary measure tips prevention, if possible, the restoration with the use of amalgam fillings when undergoing pregnancy until research data are enabled.

Though it is publicly known that women should not engage into unnecessary medical intervention upon pregnancy. This is to lessen potential ill effects to the health of the fetus.

Mercury vapor exposure in amalgam is probably the most when restoring amalgam fillings. So as a safety tip, all treatments involving amalgam should not be pushed through upon pregnancy, if it doesn’t deem necessary.

In many countries, dental amalgam still is the basis of restorations care. Still, there are no scientific proofs that can support the demolition of it as a standard of care at this point in time.

It is essential to prevent the temptation to conclude that the utilization of dental amalgam is not legal of risks. The studies were laid out to diagnose effects of certain levels and might not be expected to diagnose small effects of amalgam fillings.

Even if the children are still being tested until their teenage, this period can be considerably a small span of time.
Subtle unfavorable effects might not become clear until they become adult or even be in the late stages of their life.

Moreover, the possibility of dental amalgam effects among younger children have not been researched upon.

Dental Amalgam contains 50% mercury and is primarily used for tooth cavity treatment about 150 years now. Amalgam was initially known as inert but researches show that the chewing pressure might have caused the release of mercury as gas that can penetrate the blodstream and can scatter around our body.

This release of mercury vapor generated a lot of concerts about its ill effects on health since this can affect the brain when a huge mount of mercury is taken in our body. This can also lead to behavior and psychological instability.

Though significant studies tell that adults are not vulnerable of neuropsychological illnesses due to this, choldren may be more affected to the plausible health risks of mercury vapor release through dental amalgam. This might be due to cummulative exposure to even small mercury amount.

Mercury poisoning may cause hair loss. Dental amalgam has been blamed for early hair loss in both men and women.

According to the article the mercury gets processed from solid to vapor over time. Once this is inhaled, a lot of health problems will occur: one of them is hair loss.

If you feel that the culprit is the dental amalgam, please have it checked by a dentist. Another way to check is to undergo a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, wherein minerals in the hair is examined. Besides mercury poisoning, this test can also check for other signs of diseases.

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Guidelines include; having ample ventilation when working with the material, assurance that the patient is not allergic to mercury and that they do explain properly to the patient the risks of the use of the material. Mercury has been known to affect the health of people who are exposed to vapors that can lead to death. Proper education is the key according to the Us FDA.

Amalgam fillings has been utilized by dentists for more than a hundred years. It is the most scrutinized and examined research on restorative material among all used in the present. It is very much recognized because of its durability, resistance to chewing and easy usage. It is also relative cheaper than to other materials. It still remains to be an important treatment choice for dentists and for clients.

So what is dental amalgam composed of? It is a merge of stable alloys which includes elemental mercury, tin, copper, silver and other metallic elements. Though it remains to be a safe, recognized restorative material, there have been questions being raised because of its mercury level. Even if it’s mixed with other metals which makes it more stable and safe for dental purposes, there are still doubts in its mercury composition. Though risks have been raised, it is still considered as reliable, safe and effective restoration material.

In a research which included 534 children, which were assigned to have their dental cavity restoration in the period of five years, with amalgam or other materials. As the study finished, the ones in the amalgam section had high contents of mercury in their urine.

The researches had diagnosed if there are changes in the intellectual ability of the children who have undergone the study. Statistically, there were no significant changes in the intellectual nor auditory memory, visual memory, attention or emotional states of the children. Another study was undergone by ages eight to ten, with no initial amalgam fillings. Randomly, the children were assigned to have their dental fillings using either amalgam or other materials. Again, they have higher content of amalgam in their urines, after the restoration.