Which metals are in your mouth?
- In metal crowns: nickel, chromium, cobalt, sometimes gold.
- In amalgams (silver fillings): mercury, tin, copper, silver, zinc.
The problems with metals
Corrosion, oxidation and micro-batteries
It is recommended not to place different metals next to or opposite one another, as the less noble metals then lose their seal. Bacteria seep in quickly and decay the tooth.
Allergies
Metal allergies are becoming more and more common: you can become allergic at any age, with no prior warning. Everything then has to be removed and redone in ceramic.
Taste
Taste has been reported as disturbed when several metal fillings are present.
Officially, no study proves either the safety or the toxicity of metals in the mouth, but the debate is real: more and more practitioners are against using amalgams as a precaution. If mercury is a toxic metal for all plant life, why would it be completely harmless in our mouths?
If the mercury in silver fillings were completely harmless, handling it on pregnant women and people with kidney failure would not be prohibited! Inconsistencies in the scientific conclusions cast doubt on the so-called “safety” of amalgam fillings.
Quality alternatives to metal
Widely used 15 years ago, composites, or plastic resins, did not live up to expectations: after just a few years, because they are porous, they leak even faster than amalgams.
The common-sense solution, and the one that lasts, is to copy nature: use enamel.
Ceramic is 100% biocompatible. It costs less than waiting and later fitting a crown on a tooth that has been weakened.
