Make the SMART Choice to Protect Your Health

A protocol designed to dramatically reduce mercury exposure for both patient and team during amalgam removal.

Dental amalgam fillings, the so-called "silver" fillings, contain approximately 50% mercury. During drilling, mercury vapor and fine particles can be released and absorbed if proper precautions aren't taken. SMART (Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique) is a comprehensive set of safety measures including protective barriers, specialized masks, high-volume suction, air filtration, and removal techniques that minimize vapor release. How a procedure is performed matters as much as the procedure itself, and when mercury is involved, minimizing risk is essential.

Learn more about safe amalgam removal under the SMART protocol at our Red Bank, NJ office.

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Have questions about Make the SMART Choice to Protect Your Health? Schedule a consultation with Dr. Glenn MacFarlane.

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Make the SMART Choice to Protect Your Health Transcript

Removing amalgam fillings is not just a routine dental procedure. It's a process that requires careful attention to safety. All dental amalgam fillings, often referred to as silver fillings, contain approximately 50% mercury.

Mercury is a known neurotoxin and it can be released in the form of invisible vapor, especially during the removal process. This vapor can be absorbed into the body and may affect areas such as the brain, kidneys, liver, and nervous system. The drilling of amalgam fillings can also release fine particles that may be inhaled if proper precautions are not taken.

That's where SMART comes in. SMARTT stands for safe mercury amalgam removal technique. It is a set of safety measures designed to significantly reduce mercury exposure for both the patient and the dental team during the removal of amalgam fillings.

These measures include protective barriers, specialized masks, high volume suction, air filtration systems, and techniques that reduce the amount of mercury vapor released during the procedure. In holistic dental medicine, we believe that how a procedure is performed is just as important as the procedure itself. Choosing a protocol like SMARTT is about protecting your health, not only during treatment, but long after.

Because when it comes to mercury exposure, minimizing risk matters.