We are often asked to remove old silver/mercury amalgams because a patient may want their teeth to look better or they may believe that mercury is affecting their general health . If this is the patients' belief and they request that I remove their amalgams, I am happy to do this for them.We then restore the teeth with aesthetic composite resin

Rubber Dam

When removing an amalgam filling, the action of the drill and the water spray creates a slurry of amalgam particles which normally floods into the mouth. We remove this slurry from the floor of your mouth using a suction tube.

Rubber dam is a barrier which can be placed over the tooth when removing an amalgam filling. This barrier prevents the amalgam slurry from flooding into the mouth. The slurry simply collects on the rubber dam and we remove it immediately with the suction. The amalgam slurry never has a chance to touch your gums.

The technique is a bit cumbersome and awkward. It takes extra time so there is an extra fee associated with it. The vast  majority of people do not wish to utilize rubber dam, so, it is not a standard procedure that we use on everybody at Lighthouse Beach Dental. However, if any person requests that I use rubber dam to remove an old amalgam filling, I am very happy to do so.

People who request rubber dam are usually those who are having their amalgams removed in an attempt to improve their health. For such people total protection is important. So, if requested we would utilise the holistic dental protocol which incorporates rubber dam to prevent the amalgam slurry from entering the mouth, an oxygen mask to prevent amalgam vapour from entering the nose and protective glasses to prevent the vapour from settling in your eyes.