Amalgam Removal FAQ’s: What About the Mercury Vapour?

Amalgam Removal And Mercury Vapour

During amalgam removal mercury vapour gets released form the filling, read this blog to understand how Evolve Dental Holistic Dentist Brisbane protects you from mercury vapour exposure.

Mercury is a heavy metal, as dangerous as lead and arsenic, yet as dentists, we are trained that it is perfectly safe when it is mixed to make up dental amalgam.

Mercury Vapour and Amalgam Fillings

However, studies show that mercury evaporates as a vapour every time there is any heat or friction applied to the teeth or fillings. So just imagine every time you eat, have a hot meal or drink, brush your teeth, clench, grind or swallow, mercury is coming out of your filling as a gas. A gas that you breathe in.

The mercury is breathed into the lungs, transferred to the blood and from there into our cells. Mercury is able to enter the cells in our body and brain attaching to nerve tissue and the pituitary gland.

Studies show that mercury released from amalgam fillings appears in the kidneys, brain, thyroid and wall of the intestines, just to mention a few

An amalgam filling as small as 2mm by 2mm releases around 15 micrograms of mercury per day through wear and evaporation.

How Much Mercury Is There?

The average person with eight amalgams could be absorbing 120 micrograms of mercury per day. So what? Well when you compare that to daily uptake of mercury from fish and seafood and environmental exposure of 2.6 micrograms per day, I’d consider it very significant.

Now contemplate that when you have an amalgam filling drilled at the dentist, the drill creates immense friction against the filling. That friction causes a massive increase in mercury vapour release while the filling is being worked on.

Add to that all the bits of amalgam that end up in your mouth and you have to wonder how good for you and your health the process is. Not to mention the health of the dentist, their team and anyone else present in the treatment room at the time.

So what about the mercury vapour? How can we prevent the patient, the team and ourselves as dentists breathing it in….

Meet “Jumbo” or the IQ Air Dental Pro Hg

Jumbo, as we like to call him, sucks. No, Literally he does! The IQ Air Dental Pro Hg is an air suction and filtration device specifically designed for use in dental practices to capture mercury vapour.

Even when drilling on an amalgam with lots of cool air, water spray and suction not all the mercury vapour will be collected so it escapes into the room. Now I don’t know about you but as a holistic dentist, handling many amalgams on a daily basis in my Brisbane clinic, I don’t relish the thought of anyone including me breathing in a toxic substance for a living.

The IQ Air Dental Series was designed to improve the air quality in dental surgeries as the dental workplace exposes dentists, the team and you as a patient to a wide variety of air pollutants during routine dental work. And, we at Evolve Dental Healing, as part of our commitment to your dental care don’t want that.

Jumbo has a large suction trunk that is positioned close to the patients chin while we are working. The trunk allows the machine to suck in the vapour and aerosols that the dental suction can’t and doesn’t mop up. The mercury vapour is then collected in special filters inside the body of the machine that are designed to capture mercury as well as all the other nasties like bacteria. By using Jumbo we can confidently reduce your and our exposure to mercury greatly during the process.

Simple, effective and fantastic – Jumbo is worth his weight in bananas!

If you are concerned about your dental health, mercury or amalgam fillings then call us to book a consultation 07 3720 1811.