{"id":19307,"date":"2021-11-01T10:41:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T15:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/?p=19307"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:51:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T16:51:17","slug":"what-to-know-about-silver-fillings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Know About Silver Fillings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does your smile include a flash of silver? While the internet abounds with rumors about <\/span>the dangers of mercury in metal fillings<\/span><\/a> (aka dental amalgam, the clinical term), you can close those browser tabs: Your fillings are not going to harm you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Dental amalgam fillings are often referred to as silver fillings because of their color, but they\u2019re actually a combination of metals composed of a powdered alloy with zinc, tin, silver and copper mixed with liquid mercury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercury <\/span>can be harmful in high dosages <\/span><\/a>\u2014 mercury poisoning may cause neurological issues such as muscle weakness and loss of peripheral vision. We all absorb very small amounts of mercury through air, water and consumption of mercury-tainted seafood, but dangerous levels of exposure are extremely rare. <\/span>Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/span><\/a> has found that most people in the United States have mercury levels far below the threshold for concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mercury used in amalgam fillings is called elemental mercury, which releases a vapor that can be absorbed through the lungs. The biggest risk of mercury exposure from dental amalgam occurs while the filling is being placed or removed, so dentists take extra protective measures during those procedures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a protocol for how to minimize exposure during placement \u2014 for instance, using a rubber dam,\u201d says Dr. Rosalyn Sulyanto, DMD, an assistant professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and a pediatric dentist at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. \u201cOnce the amalgam has set, there\u2019s less mercury released, and that\u2019s far below the level that\u2019s considered risky.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s also why experts <\/span>don\u2019t recommend removing your existing dental amalgam fillings<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf patients already have the amalgam placed, there\u2019s going to be more exposure from removing the amalgam than there would be from just leaving it alone,\u201d Sulyanto says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the benefits of dental amalgam outweigh the risks for many patients: It\u2019s durable, long lasting and often more cost effective than alternative fillings like tooth-colored composite resins and glass ionomers. It also provides good moisture control, which helps to protect the remaining tooth against bacterial growth, especially in high-saliva areas like the back of the mouth or close to the gum line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been around for over 150 years, and it does have some advantages,\u201d Sulyanto says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies by the <\/span>Food & Drug Administration<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Environmental Protection Agency<\/span><\/a> and a number of <\/span>scholars<\/span><\/a> have also confirmed that the level of mercury exposure from amalgam fillings is far below the threshold of concern for healthy populations. However, <\/span>the FDA does warn<\/span><\/a> that some high-risk groups could be more susceptible to adverse effects from the mercury in dental amalgam, including pregnant or nursing women and people with pre-existing neurological disease, impaired kidney function, or metal allergies, along with children younger than six.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the benefits of metal fillings, <\/span>the use of dental amalgam is declining globally<\/span><\/a> in favor of tooth-colored resins and glass ionomers, both for their cosmetic appeal and because they require removing less of the healthy tooth tissue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn dentistry, we are moving away from the \u2018drill-and-fill\u2019 approach and doing more minimally invasive treatment,\u201d Sulyanto says. \u201cWe can do that with composites and glass ionomers more than we can with amalgams.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some dental offices have discontinued use of dental amalgam altogether, but Sulyanto thinks there\u2019s still a place for the time-tested material.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s just a discussion between the patient and their dentist about risks and benefits,\u201d she says. \u201cBut amalgam is still a usable material, which I\u2019m glad about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Ready to book a dentist’s appointment? Visit Zocdoc.<\/a><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debunking myths about their safety. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":18440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[97,108,81,106],"class_list":["post-19307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-dental-care","tag-doctors-and-patients","tag-preventive-care","tag-treatment","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Debunking myths about their safety.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Debunking myths about their safety.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paper Gown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"968\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"452\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel Garbus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel Garbus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rachel Garbus\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f32195e6373e3819debafbefcf0cfd49\"},\"headline\":\"What To Know About Silver Fillings\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Dental Care\",\"Doctors & Patients\",\"Preventive Care\",\"Treatment\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\",\"name\":\"What To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"Debunking myths about their safety.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"width\":968,\"height\":452,\"caption\":\"Kelsey Tyler\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"What To Know About Silver Fillings\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paper Gown\",\"description\":\"Stories for and about patients\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Zocdoc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"width\":2059,\"height\":1049,\"caption\":\"Zocdoc\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f32195e6373e3819debafbefcf0cfd49\",\"name\":\"Rachel Garbus\",\"description\":\"Rachel Garbus is a writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow her on Twitter @rachel_garbus.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/rachelgarbus\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides","description":"Debunking myths about their safety.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides","og_description":"Debunking myths about their safety.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/","og_site_name":"The Paper Gown","article_published_time":"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":968,"height":452,"url":"https:\/\/zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Rachel Garbus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachel Garbus","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/"},"author":{"name":"Rachel Garbus","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f32195e6373e3819debafbefcf0cfd49"},"headline":"What To Know About Silver Fillings","datePublished":"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png","keywords":["Dental Care","Doctors & Patients","Preventive Care","Treatment"],"articleSection":["Guides"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/","name":"What To Know About Silver Fillings - Guides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png","datePublished":"2021-11-01T15:41:57+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-06T16:51:17+00:00","description":"Debunking myths about their safety.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/HeroDentalColor1.png","width":968,"height":452,"caption":"Kelsey Tyler"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-know-about-silver-fillings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What To Know About Silver Fillings"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","name":"The Paper Gown","description":"Stories for and about patients","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Zocdoc","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","width":2059,"height":1049,"caption":"Zocdoc"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f32195e6373e3819debafbefcf0cfd49","name":"Rachel Garbus","description":"Rachel Garbus is a writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow her on Twitter @rachel_garbus.","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/rachelgarbus\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}