{"id":407,"date":"2020-09-10T09:34:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T14:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/50.28.11.48\/~theriot\/batonrouge\/?page_id=407"},"modified":"2020-09-28T10:34:38","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T15:34:38","slug":"mercury-free-dentistry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lafayetteladentist.com\/batonrouge\/mercury-free-dentistry\/","title":{"rendered":"Baton Rouge Mercury-Free Dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Theriot Family Dental Care in Baton Rouge, you\u2019ll receive mercury-free dentistry. We use composite fillings that match your tooth color and look natural.<\/p>\n

Why Is Mercury Used in Fillings?<\/h2>\n

Amalgam (“silver”) fillings are made of two primary ingredients. The first ingredient is an alloy of mostly silver combined with copper and maybe zinc and tin. The other ingredient, which is about 50 percent of the filling, is mercury. When you have a cavity that is ready to be filled, the dentist will thoroughly mix liquid mercury with the silver alloy, which forms a paste. This paste is pushed into the cavity, and within a few minutes it hardens. The American Dental Association says that amalgam is safe and effective for filling teeth, but people are still nervous about having mercury in their mouth, so they are wanting alternatives to amalgam fillings.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in Composite Fillings?<\/h2>\n

Composites, as the name implies, are also a mixture of materials. There is an inorganic component, which is usually microscopic particles of silica or quartz. These are bound in a plastic-like resin. It is put into your cavity in a putty form. Then there are certain activators in the resin that, when they are activated with a certain wavelength of light, will harden into a tough, wear-resistant composite.<\/p>\n

Composite vs. Amalgam<\/h2>\n
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Composite<\/h3>\n