Those metallic restorations in your teeth are actually dental amalgam fillings. While they appear silver, they contain a mixture of elements including silver, tin, copper, and a significant portion of liquid mercury that binds everything together.
These fillings gained popularity in dentistry primarily for practical reasons. They have been widely used for generations because:
Nearly all traditional metal dental fillings contain mercury as a key ingredient, regardless of what they might be called by patients or dental professionals. The mercury content is what gives these fillings the distinctive properties that made them a standard restoration method for so many years.
We believe mercury has no place in modern dental care. Mercury ranks as the second most toxic metal after arsenic, and evidence suggests there is no truly "safe" exposure level for the human body.
When you have mercury fillings, regular activities like chewing, brushing, or grinding your teeth can release harmful mercury vapor. However, the danger isn't limited to patients - dental professionals who regularly work with amalgam fillings have shown higher rates of neurological symptoms compared to the general population.
As more patients have questioned mercury's safety, our industry has developed superior mercury-free materials. We have taken this commitment further by implementing comprehensive safety protocols for removing existing mercury fillings — protecting both you and our dental team from unnecessary exposure during the process.
SMART stands for Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique. It is a set of safety steps that protect both you and dental staff when removing mercury fillings. This method was created based on research by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology and is now considered the safest way to remove mercury fillings.
When removing mercury fillings, we take these important safety steps:
These steps help protect everyone from breathing or touching mercury during the removal process, making the procedure as safe as possible.
Any questions about amalgam filling removal that are still bothering you? You can get in touch with our dental experts at Sleep Dentistry, Carindale.