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Mercury-Free Naperville Dentist
Silver fillings go back to the 1840s. Dentists discovered that they could take a paste of silver and mercury and press it into a tooth after they had drilled out the decay and weak tooth structure, and it would harden into a filling that could serve for many years. While the technical name for this material was "amalgam", it sounded classier to call them "silver" fillings, so that is what they were called. But they actually have more mercury in them than silver—they are about 50% mercury.
Dr. David Newkirk is a mercury-free Naperville dentist. He far prefers the newer composite materials for almost all minor restorative situations.
Advantages of Mercury-Free Composite Fillings
- They bond to the tooth, making the tooth stronger.
- There is less post-operative sensitivity with composite.
- For a new cavity, much less tooth structure has to be removed.
- They seal adjacent vulnerable parts of the tooth against recurrent decay.
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| These amalgam fillings are made of silver and mercury. | Here they are replaced with composite fillings, which are mercury-free. |
However, placing them properly requires total isolation of the tooth and specialized techniques. Some dentists, trained to place the easier amalgam restorations, are uncomfortable with these techniques and may have problems getting them to work correctly.
