Mercury-Free/Mercury-Safe
To my patients, friends and readers,
Dental schools still teach dentists to use silver amalgam fillings and the American Dental Association (ADA) continues to tell the public they are safe. But recently more and more questions have been raised about the safety of mercury vapor released from amalgams. This has resulted in controversy and an ongoing debate ... some dentists saying they are safe and some saying they aren’t. This issue is now evolved to the point where over 50% of practicing dentists are no longer putting amalgam fillings in their patients’ teeth. Also of interest is that three countries, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have banned the use of these fillings in the practice of dentistry.
This controversy has made many of us (Dentists) rethink what we were taught in dental school. I (Dr. Stewart) have not placed an amalgam filling in over a decade nor do I have any such product in the office. After extensive research including reading 1. Dr McQuire’s books “The Poison in Your Teeth 2. Mercury Amalgam (Silver)Fillings…Hazardous to Your Health 3. Healthy Teeth - Healthy Body: How to improve your oral and overall health (available to the public) and information provided on the ADA’s website, I concluded two things. One, that I would never again place amalgam fillings, and two, that I would practice the safe removal of amalgam fillings. The decision to remove amalgams must be made by the patient after consideration of all health /dental factors including the counseling of health care providers / physicians.
Amalgam fillings contain about 50% mercury. It has been proven that high levels of toxic mercury vapor are released when amalgams are removed - up to 100 times the maximum level allowed by government regulatory agencies. Because of that, I’ve made my office as mercury-safe as possible. To that purpose, I use state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and safe removal protocols, to protect my patients, my staff and the environment from excessive, and unnecessary occupational exposure to mercury at my office. Thus, I’ve made my practice both mercury-free (not using mercury/silver amalgam) and mercury-safe. Mercury/Free means that no mercury containing materials are used for teeth restoration. Mercury/Safe means that if a mercury/silver filling is removed, it is done with prescribed and stringent techniques and equipment.
What really separates mercury-safe dentists from those who are only mercury-free is their understanding that:
~ When unsafely removed, amalgam fillings release huge amounts of poisonous mercury vapor.
~ The mercury released from amalgam fillings negatively affects the patient, the doctor, the staff and the environment.
~ Patients, dentists and assistants need to be protected from exposure to toxic mercury vapor during the amalgam removal process.
Mercury-safe dentists have the specialized training, experience, and skill necessary to minimize /eliminate exposure to mercury during amalgam removal. This is critical to the safety of you, your dentist, his staff, and his office environment. If you want to protect yourself from excessive, unnecessary exposure to mercury vapor at the dental office make sure your dentist is not just mercury/free – but also mercury/safe.
Contact us at 303.988.4338
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