Going to the dentist is scary
enough, right? Well how about being told that you will have to have a filling
done on a cavity, and that dental filling was composed of something called dental
amalgam. After searching up what dental amalgam is actually composed of, you
find out it is 50% elemental mercury by mass. Further research leads you to
find out that this mercury is released at low levels in the form of a vapor
that can be inhaled and absorbed by the lungs. You probably didn’t want to get
that filling in the first place, but now you really don’t want to get that
filling, do you?
These are the thoughts going
through a person’s mind when they hear that their filling will be made of dental
amalgam. After doing further research, they question the filling composite
material and wonder if this is even safe for them as high levels of exposure to
mercury vapor can be associated with adverse effects in the kidneys and the brain.
Negative stereotypes and stigmas of chemistry have made people fear even the
word “chemicals,” let alone knowing that you would be constantly inhaling one
given that you had used dental amalgam as a solution for your most recent result
of a sweet tooth.
However, the bottom line is: dental
amalgam is completely safe and even FDA approved, despite the contradiction of
the filling’s possible adverse effects. Chemistry plays a very large role in
the profession of dentistry, and generally of any healthcare field. There’s a
reason why mercury is used in the dental amalgam; and that is to bind the alloy
particles together strongly, creating a durable and solid filling. As the FDA
states, the amount of mercury vapor let off by the dental amalgam is too low to
produce any significant effects. As stated in the FDA article, “The weight of
credible scientific evidence reviewed by FDA does not establish an association
between dental amalgam use and adverse health effects in the general
population. Clinical studies in adults
and children ages 6 and above have found no link between dental amalgam
fillings and health problems.”
But because of these “environmental
concerns” with dental amalgam, some dentists have moved on to composite resins.
The most common composite resin used for dental fillings is Bis-GMA, formed by
BPA and GMA which polymerize in UV light, according to an article posted on
Chemistry & Engineering News.
If you have a cavity filling in
which dental amalgam was used, fear not! Nor is it advised to get it
removed/changed. By doing this, you are putting the healthy tooth that you have
remaining at risk. Unlike your skin or many other parts of your body, once you
grow to a certain age, you cannot re-grow tooth structure. So healthy, strong
tooth structure is very important and preserving it as much as you can is
necessary! Dental amalgam is actually very strong, durable, long-lasting, are
less likely to break than most other fillings and are even cheaper! Despite
this, most people choose to go with the Bis-GMA composite resin because of the “environmental
concerns” and for its natural looking color.
Sources:
https://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/productsandmedicalprocedures/dentalproducts/dentalamalgam/ucm171094.htm
https://cen.acs.org/content/cen/articles/94/i24/Periodic-Graphics-chemistry-dentistry.html
https://www.alliancedental.ca/visiting-the-dentist/what-are-silver-fillingsdental-amalgam-made-of/
Very good title and graphics for an interesting and really quite important topic. A good example of the dangers of chemophobia. It would be helpful to link to your sources in the text. Quite specialized sources.
ReplyDeleteCavities are really disastrous because they can destroy all of your teeth and when you laugh loudly the black cavities can make your impression really bad. This is why I always follow the instructions offered by the dentist Torrance to prevent cavities and other diseases.
ReplyDelete