In dentistry, there has been a lot of debate and controversy surrounding the use of mercury-based fillings in adults and children. Mercury-based fillings, also known as Amalgam fillings, have been used for many years in dentistry and some dentists argue that they are safe to be placed in patient’s teeth. Patients are now moving towards having mercury free dentistry.
Here at Pearl Dental Clinic, we like to give our patients the choice of having composite white fillings or the even longer lasting white ceramic inlays and onlays. The overwhelming majority of patients at our clinic opt for having mercury free dentistry and do not want silver fillings.
There are differences between the two types of filling. White fillings bond to tooth tissue, whereas mercury-based fillings do not bond to tooth tissue. Therefore, mercury fillings only fill the cavity created and need more tooth reduction to create undercuts for retention of the filling. There is also the issue of mercury fillings not being as aesthetically pleasing as composite fillings.
At Pearl Dental Clinic, we can remove your old mercury-based fillings safely, and replace them with a suitable substitute that is cosmetically more pleasing. Our white fillings are made from a tooth coloured composite resin. They do not contain any mercury whatsoever. We use rubber dam and powerful suctions when replacing silver fillings to reduce the risk of mercury vapor being inhaled by patients.
To replace old silver fillings safely, we also use the Isovac® system from USA. The Isovac technology has a very powerful suction system which protects your tongue and cheek from excess water during treatment as well as preventing debris from old fillings from going down your throat. By isolating your teeth and protecting you, we can reduce treatment time and offer improved, longer-lasting results. White fillings require a very dry environment to provide optimal results, and the Isovac® system can perform this perfectly for our patients.
At Pearl dental clinic we warm up our white composite fillings to 55 degrees which makes them much more flowable and results in less voids developing in the white illing which causes much less postoperative tooth sensitivity for the patient.
After the cavity preparation is completed, we also use the advanced aquacare air abrasion unit which uses high pressure Aluminium Oxide air abrasion with water coolant to clean out the cavity completely of any bacteria and silver filling debris. This creates a very strong mechanical bond between the tooth and the white filling and greatly reduces the risk of the filling debonding in future.
Pearl Dental Clinic is open 7 days a week from 9am to 10pm. You can book an appointment by calling us on 0208 547 9997 or emailing us or book an appointment online.
