what are the safest dental fillings?

[vegmom]

I have been searching for good safe replacement fillings and can't seem to find any. I am getting my mercury amalgam filling removed next week and am feeling very frustrated that every mercury free alternative still poses health problems.

I was interested at gold fillings but many holistic dentists don't like metal in the mouth. Also when mercury and gold come in contact, mercury becomes much more toxic.

Composites fillings also look very toxic.

My holistic dentist uses the bpa containing ones. He points to this IAOMT report saying that:

http://www.iaomt.org/articles/files/...A%20review.pdf

Small amounts of BPA may leach from dental sealants immediately after application of the sealants to teeth. No BPA has been detected in blood samples, indicating that there is no detectable systemic exposure to BPA from dental sealants.
• The source of BPA that leaches from dental sealants is likely to be from hydrolysis of bis-DMA, a common monomer used in dental resin formulations.
• When evaluated as an acute exposure event, the highest level of BPA reported in saliva from dental sealants is more than 50,000 times lower than the LD50 values that have been reported for BPA.
• Although BPA exposure from dental sealants does not occur daily throughout a lifetime, the highest level of BPA reported is also below the maximum acceptable or "reference" dose for BPA of 0.05 mg/kg body weight/day.
• A recent three-generation study has confirmed the safety of the maximum acceptable or "reference" dose for BPA of 0.05 mg/kg body weight/ day.
• Consequently, human exposure to BPA from dental resins is minimal and poses no known health risk.

Ceramic, porcelain and glass ionomers also seem unsafe to me.

I am just wondering what the least toxic filling would be?

[MyLilPwny]

Is belle glass ok? I think its a new material. Someone had mentioned this in another thread in health and healing forum saying that their dentist uses this. I found this link in a google search. Not too much comes up, I guess because its new.

http://www.americanadental.com/html/belle_glass_.html

I got my amalgams replaced in 2004 by a holist dentist trained in Huggins' removal protocol, and at that time composite resin (with BPA I'm assuming) was the safest, so that's what I have now. But in a few years when I know for sure there is something safer, I'd like to get them replaced.

[jazzharmony]

Our dentist found 4 cavities in my 5yo this week and wants to fill them asap. She uses Filtec Supreme which she says does not have BPA. I have been trying to find info and think about what to do. Such tiny little cavities...


ETA - found this. So it does seem to have BPA Now I have to figure out whether it is safer to just try to keep the cavities from getting worse or put BPA, or other unsafe materials in her little body.
------------------

SECTION 2: INGREDIENTS
Ingredient C.A.S. No. % by Wt
SILANE TREATED CERAMIC 444758-98-9 65 - 75
SILANE TREATED SILICA 248596-91-0 5 - 10
BISPHENOL A POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL DIETHER DIMETHACRYLATE
(BISEMA6)
41637-38-1 5 - 15
DIURETHANE DIMETHACRYLATE 72869-86-4 5 - 15
BISPHENOL A DIGLYCIDYL ETHER METHACRYLATE (BISGMA) 1565-94-2 1 - 10
TRIETHYLENE GLYCOL DIMETHACRYLATE (TEGDMA) 109-16-0 < 5
WATER 7732-18-5 < 2

[vegmom]

Originally Posted by ThereseReich

Is belle glass ok? I think its a new material. Someone had mentioned this in another thread in health and healing forum saying that their dentist uses this. I found this link in a google search. Not too much comes up, I guess because its new.

http://www.americanadental.com/html/belle_glass_.html

I am assuming that this filling is a glass ionomer and those fillings release a large amount of fluoride when put in initially. The second day they release less and then by day ten the fluoride levels plateau. They then continue to release low levels of fluoride and most dentist will say this a very good thing.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10373088

ETA to add that I just read the Belle glass website a bit closer and noticed that it is an indirect polymer ceramic. I am not sure what that means...

[vegmom]

Originally Posted by vegmom

ETA to add that I just read the Belle glass website a bit closer and noticed that it is an indirect polymer ceramic. I am not sure what that means...

So I searched for Indirect Polymer ceramic and found that they contain Bis-GMA/barium.

Bis-GMA is "Bisphenol A-Glycidyl Methacrylate" ie. BPA

Barium is a metal and the holistic dentist does not recommend metals in the mouth. Also found on wikipedia

Soluble barium compounds are poisonous due to release of the soluble barium ion, and have been used as rodenticides.

Barium powder is pyrophoric - it can explode in contact with air or oxidizing gases. It is likely to explode when combined with halogenated hydrocarbon solvents. It reacts violently with water. All water or acid soluble barium compounds are extremely poisonous. At low doses, barium acts as a muscle stimulant, while higher doses affect the nervous system, causing cardiac irregularities, tremors, weakness, anxiety, dyspnea and paralysis. This may be due to its ability to block potassium ion channels which are critical to the proper function of the nervous system.[1]

Barium sulfate can be taken orally because it is highly insoluble in water, and is eliminated completely from the digestive tract.[1] Unlike other heavy metals, barium does not bioaccumulate.[12][13] However, inhaled dust containing barium compounds can accumulate in the lungs, causing a benign condition called baritosis.[14]

Oxidation occurs very easily and, to remain pure, barium should be kept under a petroleum-based fluid (such as kerosene) or other suitable oxygen-free liquids that exclude air.

Barium acetate could lead to death in high doses. Marie Robards poisoned her father with the substance in Texas in 1993. She was tried and convicted in 1996.[15]

So I am not sure what the chemical state of the barium is in this indirect polymer ceramic but this information is enough for me to know that I don't really want it in my mouth.

[gentlemango]

I heard that composite are toxic too and ceramic supposedly don't last very long. Subbing to see what others say about this.

[rachie]

Sheesh!

I'm trying to find out the same things here. I have several fillings that probably contain mercury. I had a couple replaced a few years ago - not sure exactly what with - white filling instead of silver/gray.

I know I need at least two of my old (gray) fillings replaced because I'm having some pain when I eat anything with sugar or that is chewy. And I'm guessing there will be a new cavity or two they'll want to fill. I've put his off for so long because I was pregnant and nursing - and am still nursing a one year old.

I don't know how to find a dentist who will take me seriously about carefully replacing the fillings so that I don't get more mercury in my system and what will be the safest (less of the "evils" to fill replace them with).

It's so confusing! How do I find such a dentist? How do I find one who takes our insurance (if any of them will)? And should I wait until I'm done nursing? What if I become pregnant again before then? That's what happened before. My son was only nursing night and day a bit at 2.5 and then I became pregnant. We don't use any form of birth control - we would LOVE more children any time they come (so that's not an option for us). It's a matter of if it's better for a brand new fetus or newborn/exclusive nurser to be exposed to it or my older nursling who only nurses three or four times a day and will less and less. Hmmm - ????????

[vegmom]

Rachie, I guess you will have to be the judge in if this is the right time for you to have your fillings replaced. I had to wait to make an appointment after AF to make sure that I was not pregnant. Also I semi-temporarily weaned my DD2. We nurse 3x a week instead of daily until I could check my mercury levels with the doctor. I also give my kids Vit. C, zinc and selenium, dulse or iodine for chelation.

To find a holistic dentist just google Holistic dentistry and your area. You can call them to find out if they take insurance.

[vegmom]

I have called a few holistic dental offices for BPA free composite fillings that they use. One of them has got back to me with...

http://www.ivoclarvivadent.ca/conten...tric%20EvoFlow

Tetric EvoCeram:

Standard composition % (v/v)
Dimethacrylates 16.8
Barium glass filler, Ytterbium trifluoride, mixed oxide 48.5
Prepolymers 34
Additives, stabilizers and catalysts 0.7
Pigments < 0.1

Note that these do contain Barium and fluoride. *sigh*

[rachie]

Hmmm

Originally Posted by vegmom

I have called a few holistic dental offices for BPA free composite fillings that they use. One of them has got back to me with...

http://www.ivoclarvivadent.ca/conten...tric%20EvoFlow


Note that these do contain Barium and fluoride. *sigh*

Wondering if Barium and fluoride would be a lesser evil than BPA - from what I've read BPA is a seriously bad thing (but then I think fluoride is and I have no clue what Barium is).

[vegmom]

Originally Posted by rachie

Wondering if Barium and fluoride would be a lesser evil than BPA - from what I've read BPA is a seriously bad thing (but then I think fluoride is and I have no clue what Barium is).

Barium is nasty and used in rodentcides. I have also started to do research on Chemtrails and Barium is a metal that they spray out of airplanes to depress immunity. Check post #5.

[~Leonor~]

I think composite is a good compromise between amalgam and ceramic.

[vegmom]

Barium and strontium leaching from aged glass particle/resin matrix dental composites

Aging in artificial saliva caused the greatest leaching of Ba or Sr for all the specimens, compared with either lesser or no leaching for aging in ethanol and water. Differences in leaching were observed between the different composites. Composites aged in artificial saliva also picked up elements in the saliva solution and displayed crystallite formation on the surface. Samples aged in ethanol displayed cracking which was not observed for water or artificial saliva.

The Composite that I had put in contained BPA. It also contained glass mixture with barium and fluoride. I chose this product because it is a better quality product. The BPA free composites are just not as good. It looks like all the replacement fillings contain harmful ingredients. The question is how likely are they to leach and what kind of harmful effects may they have?

[SleeplessMommy]

Indirect polymer means it is cured (usually heat) outside of the mouth, instead of cured (by UV or visible light) inside the mouth. The benefit of indirect is a higher percentage of cure, making a stronger, harder polymer ... therefore less leaching of BPA (if present) into the body.

I have one crown made with Radica - an indirect material which could be used for fillings by a dentist experienced in this. When I got my amalgams out, I chose composite fillings. An alternative would have been ceramic fillings (for example zirconia) but those fillings are not cost effective. Ceramic fillings are very very stable and should be fully bio-compatible, but might cost $500-1000 per tooth. (All ceramics are usually used for high-end veneers and crowns) Composite was fully covered by insurance, even though it was "cosmetic" replacement of amalgams.

AFAIK, glass ionomer is only used for baby teeth. It is not considered a "permanent" filling material, though it could last up to 5 years. My kid has received a temp. glass ionomer filling - we don't worry about fluoride.

[redvers1899]

I know this is an old post but I had to reply to the last comment for future readers. The only "reason" for this mom to not be " wooried about fluoride"is that she doesn't know enough about fluoride to make an informed opinion.