The NobleDentist Blog

Amalgam in Teeth is Safe

Posted in Dental Health News by Dion Kramer on October 12, 2007

This is an article by Dr Norman Swan that recently appeared in ABC Health Matters.

Occasionally there’s panic about dental amalgam because of the mercury in it. Amalgam’s the stuff used to fill your teeth. It’s been blamed for fatigue and brain damage in children and some people have gone and had their fillings re-drilled and replaced with a resin.

While resin composites look better, they don’t stand the stresses of chewing as well as amalgam and are more likely to fail with decay recurring in the tooth. They also cost more and are fiddly to use – so the skill of the dentist or dental therapist matters more.

Anyway two recent studies should reassure parents of children needing fillings. Both were trials comparing amalgam to resin and followed hundreds of children measuring IQ, memory, mental skills and kidney function. Out to seven years of follow up there were no differences even though the amalgam children did have slightly more mercury in their urine.

So while it’s possible there were subtle effects which weren’t detected, it’s very likely that amalgam is not a concern, which is good news for those wanting to make dentistry affordable as well as safe.

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