Mercury-free cosmetic dentistry is the process of removing mercury and other toxic metals from dental fillings, root canals, crowns, bridges, and other dental work by using surgical lasers to vaporize them. While there has been no definitive research on the removal of mercury from the human body, there have been case studies on animals that indicate that the removal of mercury from fillings and root canals does reduce symptoms.
The most common symptoms attributed to dental fillings and root canals include chronic fatigue, TMJ, headache, depression, and mood swings. These symptoms are sometimes referred to as Lyme disease or Lyme-like disease because mercury is a known co-factor in Lyme disease. You can get your mercury-free treatments done from Sterling Heights caring dentistry.
Here are some of the main benefits of mercury-free cosmetic dentistry.
- Less invasive
Mercury-free cosmetic dentistry is considered to be a less invasive and painless process compared to mercury fillings. Because of the small size of the laser, only a small area of the tooth needs to be pulverized compared to dental fillings, which require drilling and filling up the entire tooth cavity. The treatment is painless because only a small area of the tooth is removed, unlike fillings that involve more extensive damage to the teeth.
- Lasts longer
Before mercury-free cosmetic dentistry became popular, most dentists used mercury fillings to restore teeth. This was because mercury fillings last longer and do not put patients at risk of tooth sensitivity like composite resin or silver amalgam fillings. Since the new mercury-free procedures have become popular, the life span of a treated tooth will be several years or even indefinitely, depending on the type of filling used.
- Easy to repair
One of the drawbacks of mercury fillings is that they can be easily chipped or cracked, resulting in the need for major dental work to repair them. However, since mercury-free cosmetic dentistry involves removing small amounts of material from the tooth, it can be easily fixed or repaired.
- Safer
The removal of mercury from dental fillings and root canals does not pose any health risks to patients. This is because the materials used for the procedure are non-toxic and do not have any negative effects on the body. The FDA also considers this type of dentistry safer than conventional mercury filling-based procedures.
- Cost-effective
The effectiveness of mercury-free cosmetic dentistry allows dentists to provide dental care to more people at a cheaper price than silver amalgam fillings, which can be expensive.