Amalgam/"Silver Fillings"?!
Question: I would like to know how many people out there know that Silver Fillings are half mercury. The container the dentist takes the material out of has a scull and cross bones, yet the patients never hear about it. I dont think its right, I think the patients are believing that the dentist are looking out for them. Or maybe they are dreaming that the FDA is going to let them know.
Answers: I would like to know how many people out there know that Silver Fillings are half mercury. The container the dentist takes the material out of has a scull and cross bones, yet the patients never hear about it. I dont think its right, I think the patients are believing that the dentist are looking out for them. Or maybe they are dreaming that the FDA is going to let them know.
If that is true, I did not know that they are 50% mercury.
I know that mercury is very reluctant to evapourate, and therefore safe to handle, but I wouldn't want it in my mouth.
".........Dental amalgam is a stable alloy made by combining elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and possibly other metallic elements. Although dental amalgam continues to be a safe, commonly used restorative material, some concern has been raised because of its mercury content. However, the mercury in amalgam combines with other metals to render it stable and safe for use in filling teeth.
While questions have arisen about the safety of dental amalgam relating to its mercury content, the major U.S. and international scientific and health bodies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, among others have been satisfied that dental amalgam is a safe, reliable and effective restorative material......."
Mercury poisoning is overhyped. You get much more mercury simply by eating fish, such as tuna. Mercury fillings are cheaper, and last for decades, unlike others.
There is, indeed, mercury in amalgam fillings. To say they are 'half mercury' is certainly overstating the amount in them, though. The mercury is not dangerous becase it is mixed with other elements before placement in the mouth. It WOULD, however, be dangerous if there was too much mercury in the mixture. For this reason the dentist uses a machine to mix the filling to ensure that they are properly mixed each time. It is VERY easy to tell when one has to much mercury because the dentist cannot shape it the way he needs to in order to get it in the mouth. It won't hold it's shape because of the excess mercury.
As for the skull and crossbones on the container in the dentist's office.... that's the medical symbol for regulated or contaminated waste. The filing material is regulated by the government and can't just be sent to the local dumpster for disposal. It has to be segregated from the rest of the trash and disposed of according to local guidelines.