I’m Concerned I May Be Exposed To Mercury After My Amalgam Filling Broke. Should I Have The Remainder Removed Or Covered?
Q.
Hello, my good old amalgam filling just broke off. Having background in toxicology, I am pretty concerned about this situation. Looks like I have swallowed part of it, I rinsed off the rest. There is a residue of amalgam still in my tooth. Removing it can produce further exposure to mercury. Not sure if I am ready to part with my tooth either so my question is, if it makes sense to cover that cavity with composite filling, sealing the remaining amalgam? Can that be done without cleaning/scrubbing old amalgam in the cavity? Thank you.
Hello, my good old amalgam filling just broke off. Having background in toxicology, I am pretty concerned about this situation. Looks like I have swallowed part of it, I rinsed off the rest. There is a residue of amalgam still in my tooth. Removing it can produce further exposure to mercury. Not sure if I am ready to part with my tooth either so my question is, if it makes sense to cover that cavity with composite filling, sealing the remaining amalgam? Can that be done without cleaning/scrubbing old amalgam in the cavity? Thank you.
A.
Hello, thank you for your question. The amount of mercury released during the removal of the amalgam is minimal and with high volume suction and water coolants it will be even less. There is no evidence that suggests mercury contamination at this level is significant anyway so have the filling removed and replaced with either a resin filling or porcelain inlay. I hope this helps. Best wishes, Dr Andrew Moore.
Hello, thank you for your question. The amount of mercury released during the removal of the amalgam is minimal and with high volume suction and water coolants it will be even less. There is no evidence that suggests mercury contamination at this level is significant anyway so have the filling removed and replaced with either a resin filling or porcelain inlay. I hope this helps. Best wishes, Dr Andrew Moore.
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