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Dental amalgam, again » leeran

Posted by mattdds on May 1, 2003, at 21:05:46

In reply to Re: Dental Amalgam, and paranoia » mattdds, posted by leeran on April 30, 2003, at 21:05:40

Lee,

My apologies!

You're right, perhaps I misunderstood, and just assumed (wrongly) that you were getting amalgam removed because you thought it would help with depression or bipolar. This was the topic being discussed in the thread, so I wrongly assumed that was what you were talking about. I did read your post briefly, and probably made too many assumptions (and we all know what happens when we make those, haha).

If you are just getting teeth repaired because they are broken (you said a molar broke?), then that changes things. When teeth break, an onlay or a crown is usually indicated, and amalgam is generally a poor choice anyway. Amalgam is only used for direct onlays when that is the only option economically for a patient. Otherwise, onlays with noble metals (e.g. gold), or porcelain is the way to go for molars. So, why did you go through all the research on amalgam then? Did your dentist present an amalgam onlay as a treatment option?

Not to meddle, but did you discuss a gold onlay with your dentist? They are wonderful and last an incredibly long time. They also do not fracture, and wear opposing dentition as porcelain does.

When you say porcelain filling, do you mean a porcelain onlay or inlay, or crown? I have never heard of porcelain "fillings". Plus, if your tooth "broke" as you say, it doesn't sound like you need a filling. And what happened to the tooth in front of it? Why are you removing that amalgam?

Porcelain is a very inert and highly esthetic material (though it does have a tendency to fracture, and wears the opposing dentition, which I imagine your dentist took into consideration when treatment planning - I hope you dont grind your teeth!). Porcelain is a great material when used in the right places.

In my opinion, the health scare about amalgam are misguided. This was not implying at all that you are paranoid, but was responding to the (in my opinion, paranoid) anti-amalgam movement that the thread was discussing. I apologize if it sounded like I was calling you paranoid. I was not.

The dentist you describe sounds very qualified. That's great! Sounds like he has some neat accomplishments. However, I'm almost sure if you ask him, he will agree that having amalgam removed for purported health benefits is indeed quackery (I understand now that he is just repairing teeth, not suggesting you remove amalgam to improve your mood or health, right?). At least this is what I have been taught by countless similarly qualified dentists, although they practice in Manhattan, and teach at Columbia University, not in Southern California, so the philosophy may differ over there. I do know that the overwhelming majority of researchers feel that removing dental amalgam for health reasons is a "quack-o" procedure. The same majority is also convinced it is very safe in dental restorations.

In your first post, you wrote:

>>I had a molar with an amalgam filling break in March and I have not felt good since then.

Then you said that you did not know whether you felt bad because it was the anxiety of a tooth broken or the mercury. For whatever my opinion is worth, I strongly suspect it is the former.

You are absolutely right, mercury IS a neurotoxin, at high enough doses. But the amounts released by dental amalgam do not reach these high levels (unless you remove them, then the levels get higher, but still probably not neurotoxic). That is the message I was trying to get across, although I did it ineffectively, and came across a bit rude. I apologize for that.

Best of luck,

Matt

P.S. FYI, Hal Huggins is a dentist who advocates removing all your dental amalgam to improve systemic diseases such as depression, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinsons. Another poster brought up his name, so I thought you might have heard of him. Again, bad assumption on my part.


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