Amalgam is fazing out

Amalgam was used in dentistry since forever, but lately it has been the subject of a lot of controversies and criticism. In an era when we are trying to be more health-conscious and more environmentally friendly - it is harder and harder to justify the use of amalgam any more. If this is the first time you hear about it - here is the skinny: amalgam is 50% mercury, now google "Is mercury toxic?" and brace yourself for some nightmares.
So lately European Union came up with a 3 year plan to faze out amalgam, starting with a virtual ban  for children under 15 years old, also pregnant and breastfeeding women as of July 1, 2018.
Hopefully some of those changes and rules will come in US soon, especially when these days we have so many better alternatives. Needless to say, our office has never used amalgam, we only use tooth colored composite fillings, we remove old silver-mercury in a safe environment for the Patient and for our staff. Safe removal of amalgam is becoming more and more popular especially with health-minded and environmentally conscious Patients, but for children and future Mothers too.
Using less amalgam and mercury is good for everyone, for Patients, for dental professionals and staff and for the environment too. Our office had amalgam traps and filters for years, from back when no one cared about this or required any standards. Our traps and filters get picked up and recycled or responsibly disposed, we don't pollute our city's or county sewers that eventually end up in the ocean, and we are proud of that!
But also there is a social injustice factor, that very few would think about. Since only amalgam fillings are covered by most insurance plans (composite fillings get downgraded and only partially covered) what happens is that lower income Patients are more likely to receive silver-mercury fillings. That goes for lower income children or Mothers too, and this is not fair.
It's time to end this and our office is proudly only using tooth colored, composite fillings (that happen to be BPA and gluten-free too), we are also SMART certified,
please check our website or give us a call for more info.