Safe mercury filling removal Dr. Panahpour, Santa Monica
Silver fillings are about half mercury, and drilling them out releases vapour. Here, every amalgam filling comes out under the SMART protocol, the same way every time.
- SMART certified by the IAOMT
- Replaced with bonded, metal free restorations
- An honest look first: not every filling needs to come out
- Weston A. Price Foundation
- Remarkable Dentists Podcast
- Exposing Mold Podcast
- Dr. Wendy Myers
- This Healthy Life
Drilling it out the usual way releases vapour.
Amalgam gives off more mercury vapour when it is heated or ground, and a high speed drill does both. Without precautions, that vapour and fine particulate is released right next to your airway, and into the room.
The SMART protocol, the Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique published by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, is designed to reduce that exposure for you and for the team. It is how every amalgam filling comes out in this practice.
This page is for you if
- You have old silver fillings and want them out safely
- A filling is cracked, worn or leaking
- Your physician has suggested removing amalgam
- You want metal free restorations from here on
Five stages, every time.
What happens in the chair, in order.
- 01
Isolation
A rubber dam seals the tooth off from the rest of your mouth, so fragments stay out of your mouth and throat.
- 02
Capture
High volume suction sits right at the tooth, pulling vapour and particles away at the source.
- 03
Separate air
You breathe supplemental oxygen through a nasal cannula, away from the working field.
- 04
Full protection
Coverings and eye protection for you. Vapour masks, face shields and gowns for the team.
- 05
Sectioned out
The filling is cut into pieces and lifted out in chunks, kept cool with water, never ground into dust.
Not every silver filling needs to be removed.
The FDA does not recommend removing amalgam fillings that are in good condition unless a health professional considers it necessary, because removal briefly raises mercury exposure and costs healthy tooth structure. It also advises certain higher risk groups to avoid new amalgam where possible, including people who are pregnant or nursing, young children, and people with kidney impairment, neurological conditions or a known mercury sensitivity.
So the first step is an honest look. Fillings that are cracked, leaking, worn or decayed underneath need replacing anyway. Others may be fine where they are. Dr. Panahpour examines each one, talks it through with you and, where it helps, with your physician. Then you decide together.
Not sure this is right for you?
Ask Dr. Panahpour directly. The first conversation is unhurried, typically 60 to 90 minutes, by phone or in person.
Trained the year Sweden banned mercury.
Dr. Panahpour completed implantology training in Sweden the year the country banned mercury in dentistry. He has practised biological dentistry in California since 1994 and is the author of The Good Dentist.
He is SMART certified and an accredited member of the IAOMT, and he removes amalgam the same way every time, because a protocol only protects you if no step is skipped.
Related care
Amalgam is replaced with a bonded, metal free restoration, built to keep as much natural tooth as possible.
Biomimetic restoration
Bonded restorations that behave like natural tooth, trained at the Alleman-Deliperi school in Sardinia. Often an alternative to a crown.
How biomimetic works
Ozone therapy
Medical grade ozone to disinfect the field before anything is closed. Used in this practice since 2008.
How ozone is usedBiological dentistry
Materials and methods chosen for how your body responds to them: mercury safe, metal free where it suits, and as little drilling as the tooth allows.
Biological dentist in Santa Monica
Zirconia implants
Ceramic, metal free implants, planned with 3D cone beam imaging. Zirconia in practice since 2001.
About zirconia implants
Cavitation surgery
Poorly healed bone at old extraction sites, which a flat x-ray often misses. Found on cone beam imaging, cleaned, and supported with ozone and PRF.
About cavitation surgery
Bite therapy and TMJ
When the bite is uneven the jaw tilts, the skull compensates and the neck follows. The bite is measured first, before any restorative work.
How bite therapy worksVisit us in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
- Parking
- Garage in the building
- Nearby
- Five minutes from Venice and Mar Vista
- Hours
- By appointment
- Phone
- (310) 986-6001
Patients also travel in from across Southern California and from more than fourteen countries.
What people ask before booking.
Anything else, ask Dr. Panahpour directly.
Ask a question ›How much mercury is in a silver filling?
Dental amalgam is roughly half elemental mercury by weight, mixed with a powdered alloy of silver, tin and copper.
What is the SMART protocol?
SMART stands for Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique, a set of precautions published by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT). It combines isolation, suction at the source, a separate air supply, protective coverings and removing the filling in pieces rather than grinding it. Dr. Panahpour is SMART certified and an accredited member of the IAOMT.
Should I have my amalgam fillings removed?
Not necessarily. Fillings in good condition may be best left in place, and the FDA does not recommend removing sound amalgam unless a health professional considers it necessary. Fillings that are cracked, leaking or decayed need replacing anyway. Dr. Panahpour will examine each one and go through the options with you.
Can I have amalgam removed while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Talk it through with Dr. Panahpour and your physician first. Removal briefly increases mercury vapour exposure, and the FDA lists pregnancy and nursing among the situations that call for extra caution.
What replaces the old filling?
A bonded, metal free restoration. Where the tooth allows, Dr. Panahpour uses biomimetic technique, which removes only damaged structure and bonds to what remains, often avoiding a crown.
Is safe mercury removal available in Sacramento too?
Yes. The same protocol is used at the Sacramento office on East Southgate Drive.
Talk it through first.
Bring recent x-rays if you have them. The first conversation is unhurried, typically 60 to 90 minutes, by phone or in person.
- 01Reach outSend the form, call or WhatsApp. Your message goes straight to Dr. Panahpour.
- 02A real conversationYour history, what has already been tried, and what you want from this. No rush.
- 03A clear planWhat he finds and what he would do, including when the answer is that you need nothing.
Closer to Sacramento? See the Sacramento office
Got it. Thank you.
Your message reached Dr. Panahpour directly. Someone from the office will reply within 1 to 2 business days.