Are amalgam fillings harmful?
Amalgam is a material used for almost a century and a half, during which time its composition has remained unchanged. Its disadvantages include poor aesthetic qualities and chemical composition harmful to human health, as it contains mercury. However, this material is still occasionally used due to its solidity and resilience, even though there is no need for it any more. In modern dentistry, it is understood that the materials used must meet aesthetic and functional standards; they also need to be friendly to the surrounding tissues. There is no need for metal, grey and black smiles. New generations of composite and ceramic materials fully satisfy all aesthetic, mechanical and biocompatibility standards. Thus, composite fillings for minor defects and ceramic inlays/onlays for major ones, have been the required standard and the right choice yielding excellent results for a long time now. Are amalgam fillings harmful? When we speak about the harmfulness of amalgam fillings, we usually mean the toxicity of mercury contained in this material. It is true that amalgam contains mercury and it is also true that mercury is toxic; however, in amalgam, mercury is in a bound form. Therefore, theoretically speaking, this should not be a problem. Now, it is a matter of discussion whether, after all, a minimum amount of elemental mercury is released in time and to what extent. Be that as it may, the fact is that most people have had such fillings for years without any consequences, as well as that amalgam has good mechanical properties. But it is also a fact that in the 21st century there is no need for grey smiles, when we have materials with extraordinary aesthetic qualities, which are not only an alternative to amalgam fillings, but have justifiably completely replaced them.
Is teeth whitening harmful?
Teeth whitening is completely safe if it is done with high quality materials in a proper manner, and, naturally, exclusively by dentists.
If you understand the mechanism of teeth whitening, it will become clear to you why this is so. The “trick”, of course, lies in chemistry. The whitening materials applied are either hydrogen peroxide or carabamide peroxide. When this compound comes into contact with tooth enamel, it is activated either by laser or by a special lamp or simple mixing, after which it penetrates into the deeper layers of the teeth, where it is broken down into oxygen and water. The water evaporates and the oxygen whitens the teeth through the process of oxidation. It should be stressed here that the results of teeth whitening are not permanent, as the old colour re-emerges after a year. Then the procedure should be repeated, this time in a simpler form. There are no secrets and you choose the colour yourself.
Why dental implants?
Dental implants restore the roots of missing teeth. They are placed into the bone and may hold ceramic crowns, as well as other elements (magnets, attachments...), helping to solve different prosthetic problems in the mouth, for example, to stabilize a mobile prosthetic appliance (dentures). Dental implants are, therefore, a great breakthrough in improving the patient’s quality of life!!!
Are veneers a good aesthetic solution and in what cases?
Veneers are thin ceramic tiles (0.5-0.7 mm), fixed to the tooth surface, visible when you smile. They can improve or fully change the shape, size and position of the front teeth, for us to have an ideal smile. The main advantage of veneers lies in the fact that this is a minimally invasive technique, requiring minimal preparation of the tooth surface (up to 0.7 mm of only the front surface), while the aesthetic results remain fantastic. However, this advantage of veneers can at the same time be considered their flaw, in terms of reduced mechanical resilience as compared to full crowns, as they are fixed only to one tooth surface. That is why we say that veneers are not prosthetic, but only aesthetic restorations. Nevertheless, if they are carefully made, veneers are both an aesthetic and durable solution.
