Essay on Dental Amalgam

Regardless of your political stance, dental care is a service that all people should have access to, privately, or publicly. In the United States alone, millions of Native Americans on reservations are stifled from receiving the much needed dental care they require, the consequences are harmful to their health and prosperity.

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At the initial visit the patient’s plaque index was 43% and the plaque score was 55%. The most amount of plaque was present in the posterior regions in both the maxillary and mandibular quadrants. The anterior teeth suffered from a fair amount of attrition. Plaque was being retained in the grooves and pits of the damaged teeth. The patient also had slight interproximal plaque. Number 18 was chipped measially and was missing half of the large amalgam restoration. It had the most biofilm build up covering almost every aspect of the tooth, including the inside portion, which was exposed to oral cavity. When asked why she felt this was a problem area for her she responded that food constantly gets trapped inside and it’s painful, it hurts to brush. A large interproximal lesion on number 8 adjacent to porcelain fused to metal crown retained a considerable amount of biofilm also. The large and old amalgam restorations posteriorly were wearing away at the margins creating grooves and fissures on the occlusal surfaces also retaining plaque. I asked her if she felt like her diet or habits may be contributing to any oral pain or problems she is having. She answered honestly by saying she knows she harming not only her teeth but also her body. She wants to eat better and quit smoking, but she still gets pleasure when indulging and just isn’t ready to give up things she loves yet. She did agree to try and change some of her oral hygiene

Dental sealants are used to fill pits and fissures on the occlusal, or chewing, surfaces of the premolars and molars to help protect them from carious lesions and tooth decay (“Dental Sealants”, 2016). Posterior teeth that are selected for placement of sealants are either newly erupted, when occlusal surface is deep and irregular, and have a history of dental caries (Wilkins, 621). So it is very important, especially for children, to get sealants placed as soon as their molars erupt in order to lower their risk for childhood caries. However, there are many factors that have caused children to be withheld from radiographic screenings and treatment; one major factor is parents not being able to afford the treatment. But, one thing that has helped many children get sealants placed is a school sealant programs; funded by the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC has supported for the placement of sealants along with other oral health care activities in many states, including South Carolina. In South Carolina, school sealants programs have been helping save high caries risk teeth since

Is it silver filling or dental amalgam? Most people call it silver fillings, while the dentist calls it dental amalgam. "Dental amalgam was developed in France in the 1800's" (Gladwin & Bagby, 2013). In 1833, dental amalgam was introduced to the United States, which started the controversy immediately (Gladwin & Bagby, 2013). People went back and forth debating whether or not dental amalgam was safe or not. Many people do not realize that dental amalgam has been used for over 150 years and is one of the oldest materials in the oral health care ("Dental Amalgam", 1993). Dental amalgam contains a mixture of metals such as silver, which is the largest of filling and adds great strength to the amalgam, tin and copper, which also contribute to strengthening the compound, as well as mercury, which makes these components into a hard, stable, and safe substance that in amounts of up to 50 percent by weight(ADA.org, 2009).

A composite filling is a glass and colored plastic mixture used to restore decay. Composite fillings provide excellent resistance and durability to fracture that need to withstand pressure from constant chewing. They reshape disfigured teeth and change the color of the teeth.

Did you know that the sticky, slimy coating on your teeth is a bacteria called plaque and if left alone, it could ruin your teeth and gums? Plaque is easily preventable if good oral health habits are practiced daily. St. Croix Family Dentistry has 10 years of experience serving the residents of Saint Croix Falls, WI.

In fact, the American Dental Association (ADA) published their report on dental amalgam safety. The report concludes that though minute amounts of mercury are released from amalgam, no health consequences from this amount of mercury have been adequately demonstrated. It appears to be a case where the benefit of amalgam fillings would outweigh the possible and miniscule risk of mercury being used in the fillings. Since "60 Minutes" did a story in 1990 on the possible dangers of amalgam fillings containing mercury, thousands of patients have sought out holistic dentists for the removal of these fillings. Studies vary, but most of them show mixed results with benefits not necessarily related to the removal of amalgam fillings. It has been pointed out that these holistic dentists who engage in treating "mercury poisoning" or "metal toxicity" are not practicing dentistry, but a form of medical practice. These same holistic dentists test for and prescribe supplements as well, and those actions are outside the scope of dentistry practice as well. Detractors of holistic dentistry point out that failing to make a referral to a health care practitioner in these cases is considered negligent practice. If you have the time and money (because few insurances cover the cost of removal of existing fillings and replacing them with porcelain) and you feel that your

We prefer “Huggins protocol” for safe mercury removal of safe amalgam removal with an oxygen mask, rubber dam and removing Amalgam fillings in one piece, rather than grinding the old mercury filling in a messy soup of saliva, water, and amalgam waste.

Esthetic restorations are in vogue today and their demand is increasing day by day. Composites represent two major advances in restorative dentistry. Composite resins have been introduced into the field of conservative dentistry to minimise the drawbacks of the acrylic resins that replaced silicate cements (the only aesthetic materials previously available) in the 1940s. In 1955, Buonocore used orthophosphoric acid to improve the adhesion of acrylic resins to the surface of the

These so called “silver fillings” are not what they say on the tin. In fact, they are comprised of over 50% Mercury, 22-32% Silver, 14% Tin and 8% Copper as well as other trace metals including Zinc, Indium and Palladium. Silver is clearly only a minor component in amalgam fillings but it is the most appealing to unknowing patients. Mercury fillings have been poisoning people since the 1830s. Experts say, mercury vaporises at 0.056mg per hour per centimetre squared. So, if you have three fillings for a period of 10 years, that translates to 14,730mg of deadly neurotoxins being inhaled in the form of toxic mercury vapour. Doesn’t sound so healthy now, does it? Thankfully, there are campaigns challenging the use of these potentially dangerous fillings in children under six. Dr. Suresh Kotagal – a paediatric neurologist – has claimed, “There is no place for mercury in children.” This is a clear step into the future of mercury free

For the purpose of creating dentures, many materials have thus far been used, amongst these, poly methylmethacrylate (PMMA) have become the most popularly used materials (Machado et al., 2007). However, this material does come with its set of drawbacks. Its moderate to low fracture strength is the most important drawback (Mumcu et al., 2011). The population that most commonly requires the use of dentures are the older age groups. In view of this, it can be stated that older people have reduced muscular control and hence results in accidents which cause fracture of the dentures (Stipho & Talic, 2001). One way this limitation of the PMMA can be overcome is to add metal frameworks to the denture structure. But even so, drawbacks such as metal corrosion, allergy to the metal, deformation, and also aesthetic concerns do exist. Besides this, there is also difficulty in the casting

Try to locate the filling: You don't have to try to save the filling, but you should try to determine what happened to it. If you accidentally swallowed it, the filling will simply pass through your digestive system. If you have a gold filling and spit it out, your dentist may be able to put it back into place. If, however, you think you inhaled it in surprise, you should also make an appointment with your doctor as well as your dentist.

While the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other government agencies, describe dental sealants as "a safe plastic coating," many still worry about the effects of these compounds. However, BPA has been in commercial use since 1957. Research has shown BPA causes health issues with laboratory animals, and BPA levels in humans tend to be higher than

Porcelain crowns in particular can cause damage to the other teeth they grind against when you chew. That's one reason porcelain crowns are more common in front teeth than they are in back teeth where all the grinding and chewing goes on. Gold is also a hypoallergenic material, so there is a very low risk you'll have an allergic reaction to it. Although gold crowns are not made from pure gold, they are made from a metal alloy that is not as allergenic as some other crown materials that have nickel or other metal that many people are allergic