Mercury Removal
At Moonfleet we aim to minimise the exposure of the patient, staff and the dentist to mercury during removal and to this end we follow the protocol of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (SMART) see www.thesmartchoice.com.
- Rubber dam is used to isolate the treatment area.
- High volume suction to evacuate the waste.
- Air filtration to remove mercury from the operating area.
- Protective gowns and clothing.
- Charcoal to line the mouth
- Nose piece and separate air supply for the patient.
- Nutritional support to minimise the risk of mercury exposure during the procedure
In addition, we do not use an air rotor which we find increases the aerosol effect and can cause microcracks in the tooth structure which can eventually weaken the tooth.
We also avoid the use of adrenalin containing local anaesthetics whenever possible. All local anaesthetics are mildly toxic but without their use high class dentistry would not be possible. We generally use mepivicaine which is arguably the least toxic of them.