We are delighted to announce that Mullane Dental has now reopened for all aspects of dental care.
Please call us on 069 62703 or drop us an email at info@mullanedental.ie to arrange an appointment.
Please watch this video to learn how we provide a safe environment for staff & patients. To learn more about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe, click here.
We look forward to welcoming you back!
It’s important to separate fear from facts. People who might be concerned about dental amalgam because it contains mercury can be reassured that credible scientific studies show no cause for alarm. Study after study shows amalgam is safe and effective for filling cavities. Mercury exists in set amalgam as inter-metallic chemical compounds, for example with silver and copper, not as elemental mercury. This is similar to the sodium in table salt; both sodium and chloride can be toxic alone but not when combined.
Authoritative medical organizations (outside of dentistry) have independently reviewed the scientific literature related to neurological, degenerative, autoimmune and psychological syndromes looking at dental amalgam as a causative agent – and found nothing:
Many organizations outside of dentistry have also reviewed the scientific literature looking for any credible link between dental amalgam fillings and general health problems – and have found none:
Two prospective clinical trials (7 years) compared the neurobehavioral, neuropsychological and renal effects in children receiving dental amalgam versus resin-based composites. No adverse effects were found in either study, other than a higher re-treatment rate for children with resin-based composite fillings.
Amalgam fillings are considered less expensive to place and generally last much longer than any other material directly placed as a filling. While plastic fillings (composite) provide satisfactory service for approximately five years they are replaced at higher rates and repaired at twice the rate of amalgam. Collins et al
reported twice the failure rate for composites as compared to amalgam by the eighth year. By 10 to 11 years, failure rates as high as 40% to 50% have been reported for composites.
More recently, multi-surface resin-based restorations were reported to be replaced and repaired at nearly twice the rate of amalgam restorations in 2,780 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel during their first five years of service.
Less than one percent of mercury released to the environment from man-made sources comes from dentistry, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. First, the vast majority of mercury in surface water is from coal-fired utility plant exhaust that travels through the air then falls back to the earth. Second, very little amalgam enters surface water, because standard dental equipment and wastewater treatment facilities capture approximately 95 percent of waste amalgam. The American Dental Association and dentists across the country are committed to recovering and recycling amalgam. To further protect the environment, the ADA encourages dentists to meet with local regulators and discuss what’s right for their community when it comes to amalgam waste disposal.
No state that has examined the issue has banned or limited dental amalgam
