Teeth
April 22nd, 2004 | Published in Out Loud | 1 Comment
I just had a filling done and was recounting the experience (good) to my friend Chance. He said, “I’ve got to get some work done, too. One of my teeth has cracked from an old filling.” Surprised, I told him I had the same problem with two old fillings.
“Yeah,” Chance said, “who would have thought metal was harder than teeth?... I would have, actually.”
I laughed. Who came up with metal fillings anyway? And mercury before that? No wonder people hate the dentist. Sadistic little bastards.
May 2nd, 2004 at 12:18 pm (#)
Of course, teeth crack not only because metal is stronger than them, but also because mercury fillings expand over time, sort of imploding the teeth. Supposedly, viable alternatives have been around since the 1800s, and I’ve read (but can’t entirely vouch for the source) that the ADA was founded by a group of renegade dentists who insisted on using mercury purely for the profit motive (cheaper material at the time). By the way, if teeth start cracking from expanding metal fillings, it’s often better to get a crown rather than fill it again. The latter isn’t as structurally sound and could lead to pulling the tooth down the line. Damn, I sound like a reputable dentist, don’t I?