Mead Family Dental

"Saginaw dentist prefers drilling smaller holes in teeth" or "the problem with silver fillings"

So if silver fillings aren't dangerous due to Mercury, why are people moving away from them?

Clearly, some dentists aren't. They are a tooth restoration with a proven track record. They last for a long time and they are simple, quick and inexpensive to place. If you're working on back teeth that no one is going to see, why not just do silver fillings?

There's certainly an argument to be made for that. Besides their metallic color, silver fillings have a couple other weaknesses.

1. strength only in bulk: Silver fillings are pretty strong, but there has to be a pretty big bulk of material. Anything less than about 2mm in depth or width is likely to fracture. This isn't much of a problem if you have big spots of decay. But lets say you have a small cavity. The perfect example of this is a "groove cavity" in a back tooth. Often these cavities are relatively deep but very narrow. This narrowness doesn't allow for the proper bulk of silver filling material. But it doesn't make sense to widen the cavity for material. When you remove more tooth structure you actually weaken the tooth. There may not be problems in the first year, 5 years or even longer.  But over time, a tooth weakened by removing extra tooth structure can crack and even break. Which could lead to pain and the need for more expensive dental work. Teeth can break for lots of reasons, but removing tooth structure to restore teeth is a common cause. As Dr. John Kois says, "the best dentistry is no dentistry."
2. not bonded: in order to stay in a tooth silver fillings need to be placed into an undercut area. The material goes into a cavity in a soft, packable form and sets up hard. So when it's placed into an undercut as a soft material and then hardens up, it stays in the tooth. This causes a similar problem, though. Often more tooth needs to be removed in order to make an undercut.

Modern bonded fillings use a chemical bond to stay in place. They are placed with a kind of "tooth glue" that doesn't require removing any more tooth structure than what's needed to clean out the tooth decay. In this way, bonded composite fillings can require less tooth structure to be removed. Which may result in a smaller likelyhood of tooth fracture down the road.

Dental amalgam has saved countless teeth over the more than 100 years it's been in use. And it will continue to have a place in dentistry. It's strong and cheap, but it's ugly.

There are options that require the removal of less tooth structure that can be used as well. They look more like teeth and they are actually bonded to the tooth structure. They are MUCH more difficult to place well. They require much drier conditions and take a lot longer to place correctly. Bonded fillings are hands down my favorite restoration to place! When done with care they are beautiful and quite durable.

Questions or comments about this post? I'd be happy to answer them! Email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com or call the office at (989) 799-9133. We would love to be your Saginaw dentist!

Silver fillings: "tooth-saving work horse" or pure evil?

What's the deal with silver fillings? Why is it that we see news stories every once in awhile questioning the safety of dental amalgam? The answer, in a nutshell, is Mercury.

The element Mercury (Hg) is highly toxic. Think broken thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs. Avoiding Mercury exposure is highly recommended. As an element, Mercury is poisonous.

Another element, Chlorine (Cl), is also highly toxic. Yet, when combined with the element Sodium (Na) you get a chemical that is common, safe and in reasonable doses, delicious. Common table salt is a chemical compound called Sodium chloride (NaCl) and is perfectly safe to eat in moderate amounts. But no one in their right mind would go out of their way to ingest Sodium or Chlorine on their own. The same goes for Mercury.

"Silver fillings" aren't really fillings made of Silver. They are a combination of Mercury, Silver, Copper, Tin and other trace metals. Silver fillings are placed by thoroughly mixing these ingredients. The ingredients mix and form an alloy of the metals. This alloy is different than any of the ingredients individually. In other words, there isn't just Mercury, Silver, Tin or Copper in there. It's a whole new chemical compound made up of all of these metals. It's kind of like concrete. You start with cement, sand, stone and water. The final product is concrete. You can't go back and take the ingredients out of concrete without breaking down the concrete chemically.

The bottom line is that there's no such thing as "Mercury fillings." Dental amalgam has Mercury in it that is chemically combined with other metals to form an alloy. One of the properties of Mercury is it's ability to form an alloy like this at room temperature.

Can dental amalgam "leak" Mercury? Yes. There can be a very slight release of mercury from amalgam fillings. A study conducted by measuring the Mercury vapor levels inside the mouth over a 24-hour period in patients with at least nine amalgam restorations showed the average daily dose of inhaled mercury vapor was 1.7 µg (micrograms), which is approximately only 1% of the threshold limit value of 300 to 500 µg/day established by the World Health Organization. So there is Mercury released from fillings, but it's a very tiny amount.

What about Mercury exposure from dental amalgams causing diseases? The American Dental Association has weighed in regarding the safety and efficacy of dental amalgam. Scientific evidence concludes that the use of dental amalgam is safe. There is no evidence to support removing silver fillings in an effort to cure or prevent other diseases.

Dental amalgam has undoubtedly saved millions of teeth in its 100+ years of use. Until relatively recently there haven't been inexpensive options to restore teeth that could hold a candle to silver fillings. They're durable as heck and they're relatively easy and inexpensive to place.

Are there any problems with dental amalgam? I actually see two.

1. They're ugly. When polished they can be shiny and smooth, but they don't look like a tooth. They look like metal, which they are.
2. In order to place a silver filling you need to remove a lot of tooth structure. In a tooth that's never been filled before, this means that you're cutting away more tooth structure than you need to. 

To me, those are the main down sides to using dental amalgam. Perhaps these down sides deserve their own post (stay tuned!) I place very few dental amalgams any more because I'm confident that I can place an excellent bonded resin restoration (a.k.a: composite) in any situation that I might have used amalgam.

But my reasons for using composite fillings has nothing to do with Mercury. In my mind, the Mercury is a non-issue.

Do you have questions or comments about this post? Can this Saginaw dentist be of service to you in any way? I'd love to hear from you at my email: alan@meadfamilydental.com. Or give us a call at the office at (989) 799-9133! We'd love to be your Saginaw dentist! And don't forget to "like" us on Facebook!

 

"I never eat breakfast..."

Sure, but how about flossing your breakfast*?

*please note...I have no experience with this product. It appears to be floss and would probably do what floss is supposed to do, but I have mixed feelings about bacon flavored hygiene products.  Just sayin'.

Every day things

So we've determined that you probably don't floss. There's no shame in this. You understand there's a problem, you're willing to change. As long as it's easy.

It is. 

"How can this be?" you ask. You just finished telling me that most people don't floss. Now you're saying it's easy?

Yeah. Kind of. Flossing is definitely tougher and more time consuming than brushing. Or at least the way most of us brush. The old "20-seconds-scrubbing-like-you're-cleaning-tile-grout" routine is a cake walk. You should actually spend more time and be more gentle, but that's a post for another day.

This video describes the "how to" as well as any video I've seen.  

One thing that this video does not suggest strongly enough is how gentle you need to be when sliding floss between the teeth. Many people have tight contacts between their teeth. To avoid a painful and sometimes bloody experience you need to use a gentle "sawing" motion when sliding the floss into a tight contact. If you let it snap, it's going to hurt, it might bleed and you'll decide you don't like to floss. Go very slowly at first. Excruciatingly slow. Until you get the hang of it and know where your tight contacts are, take your time. 

We've described how to floss correctly, but we haven't made it easy for you to floss yet. It needs to be as normal and regular as jumping in the shower, right? So what is Mead's magic solution to make it this easy? 

Keep your floss in the shower. 

Most people have a showering ritual that they go through every day. If you can add flossing to this ritual, you've got it made! So leave a spool of floss on the same shelf you keep your soap and shampoo. It will be just one more thing you do before your done showering. 

I suggest flossing first. "Why?" you ask. Well, we've already discussed that flossing is pretty gross. You need to rinse your mouth and wash your hands afterward because your goal is to remove the remnants of bacteria slime from in between your teeth. So if you floss first, you'll get the nastiness out of the way. You can rinse your mouth and wash your hands and get on with the rest of your routine.

If you'll do this I promise you that it will become a habit. If you can make it a habit, you will have healthier teeth and gums and all of your interaction with the dentist will be happy and cordial with a lot less needles and drills.  

 

Let me interject that I recommend brushing your teeth before you jump into the shower and rinsing with an over the counter fluoride rinse after you're done, too.  If you shower in the morning before breakfast and coffee you need to hold off on the fluoride rinse. You shouldn't eat or drink anything for 30 minutes after using an OTC fluoride rinse.

So there you have it. You can make flossing a habit using this little trick. It's how I did it and I've had patients tell me that it's worked for them.

Did you make this work? Do you have another way to help make flossing a habit? I'd love to hear how! Comment on this post or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com and I'll be sure to get back to you! Would you like to become one of my patients? Email me or call the office at (989) 799-9133. I promise we'll take good care of you and treat you really well. That's what this Saginaw dentist does!

 

 

 

You probably don't floss...

You probably don't floss every day.

I don't say this to be cruel. It's just that research suggests that 60-90% of people don't floss every day. So statistically I'm dead on. My experience as a dentist seeing real mouths and teeth most days makes me think that reality is closer to 10% floss daily. Or less. The same studies suggest that most everyone brushes daily.

Let's be honest. Flossing is disgusting. You get stuff (anaerobic bacteria and their lovely smelling by-products) on your hands. If you aren't careful, you can make your gums bleed. If you have active gum infection you might notice that your gums bleed when you brush, too. But even healthy gums can bleed if you're not pretty good at flossing. And yes, I'm suggesting that you can become better at flossing with practice. Guaranteed. 

On the other hand, when you brush your teeth you have delightful, minty breath whether you do a good job or not. Toothpaste makers have seen to that. 

Minty, fresh goodness or bloody, smelly hands. Is it any wonder which one is more popular?

Note to floss companies: try to sell flossing as very sexy and people will floss more. Or tell people it will make their teeth whiter. (future headline: "Saginaw dentist sells out to floss producers!")

So, yeah. Flossing isn't as rewarding to you as brushing. Worse, it's harder. But it's really important. The places where floss reaches are all the places that your tootbrush can't. And those places are probably the ones that need the cleaning the most.

Let's break it down. Brushing a couple times a day but not flossing is pretty much like taking a shower every day but making sure not to wash your feet and armpits. I know. Nice visual. But totally true. 

Are you one of the 50% that doesn't floss? I hope I kind of grossed you out. If so, mission accomplished on my part.  So what should you do about it?

1. read tomorrow's post where I make flossing every day totally simple and straight forward.
2. make an appointment for a cleaning at Mead Family Dental where you will be treated REALLY nicely, have an awesome cleaning and exam.  Plus, if you act now...you'll receive at no extra charge...floss!  That's right!  You can get some for the house, some for the car.  You'll have some wherever you need it!  Call us at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.

 

 

Saginaw dentist presents at the Michigan Dental Association meeting!

I have the opportunity to present at the Michigan Dental Association's Annual Session.  My program is entitled "Facebook and Twitter and Youtube, Oh My!  Social Media for the Beginner." 

I should be back to my normal posting schedule next week.  For now, feel free to take a look at what I'll be talking about!

Tomorrow! At the MDA Annual Session!

I can't wait!

What not to do.

Don't do this*.

Ever.

That is all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*If you already did, and something broke...we can help.  We see most emergencies immediately. Call us at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.

Your Saginaw dentist and the Facebook page

We've got a Facebook page.  You can find it at www.facebook.com/MeadFamilyDental.

You should go "like" it now.

And thanks!  

 

Sorry, but boring dental patients still need to come see us

I previously explained what I mean by a "boring dental patient."  No offense intended.  I think you should be amazing and interesting in all other facets of your life.  Stay dentally boring if you can.  

You tell me I've had a perfect dental history.  Why do I need to keep seeing the dentist?

Your perfect history definitely makes you a low risk for further dental problems.  But if things change we want to be able to catch dental problems really early.  What kind of change am I talking about?

• medical changes:  Let's say you're diagnosed with hypertension.  Your physician puts you on a medication to control your blood pressure.  A major side effect of this and many other medications is a dry mouth.  A dry mouth increases your risk for tooth decay.  As your risk increases we want to make sure we're seeing you as often as ever so if problems occur we can catch them really early.
• dietary changes: I was cavity free before I left for college.  I had cavities by the end of my freshman year.  I drank more pop and sweetened beverages and ate more sugary foods.  It's what college students do.  My diet changed and my risk for tooth decay went up.  
• natural changes due to age:  Whether we want to believe it or not, we're all getting older.  Your natural saliva flow is reduced as you get older.  Older patients are also much more likely to be on multiple medications.  Both of these things increase your risk for tooth decay.

It doesn't make me happy to rain on the parade of someone with perfect teeth.  Your history does mean that you're less likely to have problems.  But we won't know if we don't check!

Whether you have perfect teeth or you're an "interesting case," we'll be here for you!  I want to be your Saginaw dentist.  If you have questions or would like to make an appointment call the office at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I always answer my own emails!