Bonding - a quick compromise but a poor long term solution

Composite resin, used for tooth coloured fillings can be useful in treating chipped or crooked or discoloured teeth. This is called "bonding". The treatment usually consists of building the crowded teeth out or creating adjacent teeth with even edges. The result is an illusion of straightness and whitening that can be most pleasing.

Although the result is immediately appealing... it is short term. The composite resin, while an excellent and healthy alternative to "mercury-amalgam" fillings, it is not a designed to be a cosmetic restoration. The resin will quickly pick up stain, depending on your eating, drinking (and smoking) habits. It will dull in time, largely due to the abrasion of toothpaste and use of mouthwash.

There is no better long-term solution than a porcelain restoration, supported with good oral care and regular visits to an excellent dentist and hygienist.

Stained teeth

One type of surface stain actually gets trapped into the tooth structure because of microcracks. These tiny microcracks are usually caused by either chewing on ice or other hard objects. They are so small they generally go unnoticed until they become stained, usually from food, beverages or smoking. Best advice is never chew on ice! These stains should go away with a professional whitening system.

Can't find a dentist to take out your mercury fillings?

We had a really nice new patient a couple of days ago. She'd expressed frustration that it was so hard to locate a dentist that would take out all of her old mercury fillings safely.

Now that you have decided to have your mercury removed, you may want assurance that your exposure to mercury is minimal during the removal procedure. By now you know that our office and our team are not “traditional”. There are many extra steps that we take to keep the patient and the team safe from mercury exposure.

- Dr. Kesteven does not slowly grind the mercury filling out of the tooth. The grinding releases mercury vapour. Instead he cuts the filling to be taken out in large pieces.
- We use an air purifier, which omits ions into the air to purify the air. It weighs down the metals in the aerosols, making the mercury easy to remove through suctioning. Along with this, we use a lot of water during the removal to trap the metals to prevent toxic aerosol.
- The suction system is extra high volume suction. It is not a “regular” dental suction.
- We also use a suction instrument called a "Clean-up". The tip is fashioned so that it can tuck over the specific tooth that is being purged of the metal. The suction tip creates a vortex and draws the aerosols away from the mouth and just as importantly, the nose.
- We use a rubber dam as much as possible, not only does it aid in keeping the tooth isolated from contamination during the restoration, but it prevents mercury exposure to the patient, through mouth breathing and swallowing.

Many of the patient protection procedures, that we use, are common sense. However, the technologically advanced instruments designed for safe mercury removal have been hand-picked by Dr. Kesteven and our team because of the effectiveness of them.

Please don’t forget our team works within this environment daily. We have taken the necessary precautions against mercury exposure for not only our patients, but for ourselves.

I hope that these answers help you to make an informed decision. Mercury fillings do create vapour while you chew, drink hot liquids, grind your teeth, etc. It is not bonded to your natural tooth and the leakage allows microorganisms to create more decay under the silver filling, which weakens the tooth. So, from a health stand-point or a decay stand-point, it is important to address the issue sooner than later.