Safe Amalgam Removal

Treatments / Safe Amalgam Removal

Why consider amalgam removal?

Cosmetic Preference - an aspiration to have tooth-coloured fillings which give a more natural-looking smile, rather than unaesthetic metal silver/grey fillings.
Mercury Concerns - Some patients express unease about mercury content in their fillings.
Allergic Reactions - although rare, some patients are sensitive to the metals used in amalgam fillings.

What is in amalgam?

Dental amalgam is produced by mixing liquid mercury with an metal alloy powder at a ratio of 1:1

The major components in amalgam are:

• Mercury (50%)

• Silver (25%)

• Tin (14%)

• Copper and/or Zinc (8%)

How do you remove the amalgam?

The amalgam is removed using protective measures, based on the SMART (Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique) protocol, to minimise your exposure to any mercury vapour.

Activated Charcoal Mouthwash - rinse prior to and after treatment (optional)

Latex-free Nitrile Gloves - used by the dentist and dental nurses in the surgery room

Latex-free Nitrile Rubber Dam - a rubber sheet is sealed around your tooth/teeth , which prevents the ingestion of any amalgam particles

Tungsten Carbide bur - used to section and remove the amalgam. This removes the amalgam in 'chunks' and avoids the use of a diamond bur that creates an amalgam slurry that is harder to remove

Water Cooling - copious amounts of water is used in the handpiece to reduce heat and reduce the creation of amalgam 'dust'

High Volume Aspiration - a powerful high volume vacuum suction tip is held close to your tooth during amalgam removal, to suck up the amalgam and mercury vapour

Water Flushing - following treatment and removal of the rubber dam, your mouth is thoroughly flushed with water prior to rinsing

Air Filtration - the surgery room has high volume air filtration to filter the circulating air.

Amalgam Separator - used to collect amalgam waste, so it can be disposed of in a safe manner, minimising the environmental impact

What replaces the amalgam fillings?

After removing the amalgam fillings, is is important to replace with biocompatible alternatives such as BPA-free composite or ceramics.

Resin composite - tooth coloured fillings, using BPA-free composite resin.
Ceramic Restoration - Inlays/Onlays/Crowns which are computer designed for a precision fit. Ceramic restorations are much stronger than composite and last longer. These restorations are indicated if the cavity is too large to support a conventional filling.

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