beginning of end for amalgam?

[Daurang]

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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/1...oxnews/world+(Internal+-+World+Latest+-+Text)

 

[toothfixeralex]

I doubt it. Thankfully when it comes to actual enforcement the UN has pretty much 0 power. This will be like a small little kid telling you that you're grounded. You'll look at him, say "awe, isn't that cute" and then go about your business as usual 🙂

Interesting to note, according to wikipedia, the US didn't sign the treaty

 

[toothfixeralex]

Here's the text regarding dental use:


Dental amalgam

Measures to be taken by a Party to phase down the use of dental amalgam shall
take into account the Party's domestic circumstances and relevant international
guidance and shall include two or more of the measures from the following list:

(i) Setting national objectives aiming at dental caries prevention and health
promotion, thereby minimizing the need for dental restoration;
(ii) Setting national objectives aiming at minimizing its use;
(iii) Promoting the use of cost-effective and clinically effective mercury-free
alternatives for dental restoration;
(iv) Promoting research and development of quality mercury-free materials
for dental restoration;
(v) Encouraging representative professional organizations and dental schools
to educate and train dental professionals and students on the use of
mercury-free dental restoration alternatives and on promoting best
management practices;
(vi) Discouraging insurance policies and programmes that favour dental
amalgam use over mercury-free dental restoration;
(vii) Encouraging insurance policies and programmes that favour the use of
quality alternatives to dental amalgam for dental restoration;
(viii) Restricting the use of dental amalgam to its encapsulated form;
(ix) Promoting the use of best environmental practices in dental facilities to
reduce releases of mercury and mercury compounds to water and land.

 

[Shunwei]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/1...oxnews/world+(Internal+-+World+Latest+-+Text)

truth is I haven't done an amalgam at all since I started practicing. in amalgam has more wear resistance and durability compared to composites but with the newer generation composites the differences are really minimal. and with the waves of anti-silver fillings nowadays people actually try to have me take out perfectly good amalgams, which I refuse to do. and personally, I don't like silvers anyway since I have seen too many teeth fractured by them.

 

[TJNova2011]

amalgam is boss, composites will keep us in business when these idiots continue to attend all these new schools and pay up the azz in tuition (midwestern, blue ridge, nyu, usc, etc)

 

[Lethstang]

alls i know is ive seen 30 year amalgams but not 30 yr composites. But who knows maybe the comps we are placing now are there.

 

[Lethstang]

Also i remember reading the studies on pubmed that showed you could have a mouth full of amalgams all leaking and still your consumption of mercury would be safe. Has that been debunked...scientifically?

 

[gryffindor]

I think anyone who says "OMG amalgamz never" has not spent a day working in a public health type of setting where you are lucky to find unexpired composite and a working curing light, let alone a rubber dam or a good assistant to help you with isolation. At that moment, thumbing in some triturated amalgam into your #30 MOD with a huge wandering tongue sounds so much faster and better and is the only thing standing between you and getting to the cafeteria for lunch.

 

[diasIItema]

Oh, Fox News.Amalgam is not going anywhere. Regulations on its disposal will probably be tightened, but you simply can't do composites in posterior teeth and expect them to last. Plus, there's more mercury in a plate of sushi than a mouth full of amalgams. It's quite safe and abundant in the scientific literature. However, our operative professor, who is BIG on amalgam, said California schools are no longer teaching it? Can anyone confirm or deny?

 

[DrJeff]

Personally I hope they never ban amalgam. It accounts for maybe 10% of my direct restorative work these days, however when I've got to restore #31 lingual or say 15 disto-buccal at/below the gingival margin on a patient with macro glossia, an active gaga reflex and a high salivary flow, amalgam is the GREATEST restorative material in the world at that moment in time! 👍

If I have an "internet smart" patient who comes in with a sheet they printed out claiming that they want all their "mercury" fillings removed and replaced with "white" fillings, my typical response to try and get them to RATIONALLY think about things for a moment is something like "Sure Mrs. Smith, I can replace all of your silver amalgam fillings with tooth colored BPA/Estrogen containing fillings!" That often then gets them thinking for a moment or two at which point I can have a real conversation with my patient about the pros and cons of the various restorative materials we have today and the myths often surrounding them

 

[cmcner]

Oh, Fox News.Amalgam is not going anywhere. Regulations on its disposal will probably be tightened, but you simply can't do composites in posterior teeth and expect them to last. Plus, there's more mercury in a plate of sushi than a mouth full of amalgams. It's quite safe and abundant in the scientific literature. However, our operative professor, who is BIG on amalgam, said California schools are no longer teaching it? Can anyone confirm or deny?

USC still teaches amalgam to it's freshman class in preclinic, we also offer it in the clinic but most patients want composite due to aesthetics.