[daveguy]

It looks like the author took into account the safety of the plastic in creating these, which is a good thing. Maybe more so than dentists. You know "silver" fillings aka dental amalgum? They are 50% mercury by weight and are still being used. Supposedly safe because it is inhalation of mercury that is poisonous. Removal of those fillings with a drill can be dangerous. When some guy told me about this and was talking about it being the next asbestos/mesothelioma, I was thinking "sure! That sounds like conspiracy crap!" Then I looked it up on the FDA site like he suggested:

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedur...

Anti-vaxxers are idiots and it is obvious that vaccines don't cause autism (original study was a fraud). The health benefit of vaccines is as undeniable as the lack of correlation to autism.

That said, dental amalgum is a chunk of mercury in your mouth. FDA says it is safe for people over 6yrs old, but I personally will stay away from it for any future dental work.

[Grishnakh]

The thing about the mercury amalgam fillings is: why even bother any more? Modern resin fillings are mercury-free, plus they look far better and are nearly indistinguishable from real tooth. They're stronger too: I have a resin "filling" that's actually filling in a chip on one of my front teeth, meaning this filling is actually shaped into a sharp biting edge. It's been there for a year now and works fine. You can't make tooth repairs like that with amalgam.

Amalgam is just plain obsolete, regardless of how safe it may or may not be. So why anyone still uses it, I have no idea; I can only guess they're cheaper than the resin fillings, so they're used for low-income patients, or by shitty (or old-timer) dentists trying to improve their bottom line.

[tonyarkles]

Price, yes. I got mine when I was a student and had no cash; I had a hole in my tooth and had to get it filled for the lowest cost I could.

If I have to get more... It'll be resin. The amalgam ones I've got have lasted a long time though, and I don't seem to have any new holes now that I've quit drinking so much soda every day :)