The 411 on Amalgam Silver Restorations

A commonly asked question in a dental office is whether or not amalgam restorations are safe. Amalgam is a restorative material made up of silver, mercury, tin and copper. Recent studies have shown that the placement of amalgam restorations releases a minute amount of mercury vapour into the body, especially when chewing. If there were risks, they would have been observed during the 150 years that this material has been in use. One must remember that although people with amalgam restorations are receiving small amounts of mercury, we are also exposed to mercury through foods we eat, water, and the air we breathe. Here at Innovation Dental we do not place amalgam restorations. We use tooth coloured composite resin fillings. We do this more for esthetics; we are not against the placement of amalgam fillings. We are more than happy to replace silver fillings with composite if a patient requests this or if it is needed, but we feel comfortable leaving amalgam restorations in your mouth if they are stable and doing the trick. If you have any other questions regarding dental amalgam feel free to ask one of the dentists or visit:

http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/faqs_resources/faqs/dental_amalgam_faqs.asp