Dental Amalgam. Where do we stand?

Today Dr. Oz is doing a segment on dental amalgam.  Dental amalgam - the silver or black fillings - are a mixture of several metals, one of which is mercury.  These types of fillings were banned in many European countries in the 1990's when Dr. Griffin was in dental school.  The ADA has remained firm in their stance that dental amalgams are safe.  Yet, Dr. Griffin made the choice over 14 years ago to have an "amalgam free" practice. 

There was a shift in dental sciences following the ban of dental amalgam in so many countries.  The white composite resin materials were initially unstable and often unreliable.  Since this ban and the investment of dental material companies in the improvement of mercury-free filling materials, the predictability of these materials has greatly improved - often surpassing the amalgam as the material of choice for the replacement of missing tooth structure.  These white fillings are made of either a resin with glass particles or entirely of a crystalline, ceramic structure and are bonded directly to teeth with means that can fortify a tooth.  Since these are bonded to a tooth, they help preserve tooth structure as the dental amalgam fillings require additional tooth removal to create undercuts for retention.

For fourteen years we have been striving to provide excellent care for our patients.  And we have done so without placing new dental amalgams in teeth.  The decision to electively remove existing amalgams remains in the hands of the patient - that is never our recommendation.  We only recommend removing an existing amalgam when there is evidence of decay, fracture or breakdown. 

The Dr. Oz show hasn't run yet this afternoon.  We are taping it and are looking forward to watching it.  Much of it may seem sensational.  But some of it may hit home.