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There has been a lot of public awareness of BPA (Bisphenol A) and its impact on health and human development. BPA is used in the manufacturing of plastics and can bind to mammalian estrogen receptors in the laboratory setting, giving rise to impact on heart disease, obesity, diabetes, immune system and reproductive disorders, breast cancer and a decrease in sperm count, among other health issues.

Historically, resin “white” dental fillings and sealants were manufactured with BPA in the 1990’s. Today, dental fillings are not manufactured with added BPA. However, there is still some controversial concerns that BPA can form during the chemical reaction necessary for a resin filling to completely harden (aka“cured”, polymerize or chemical reaction)

Minimizing the formation and leaching of BPA into the mouth can be accomplished by meticulously following recommended guidelines coming out of laboratory research. In essence, the way to minimize BPA leeching is to minimize exposure to incomplete polymerization of the newly placed resin filling during the curing process and immediately afterwards.

Here at Dr Kaitilin Riley’s dental practice, we know how to handle the products and how to minimize BPA leeching into the saliva including:

  1. Calibrated curing lights to ensure complete polymerization of resin.
  2. Correct quantity of resin for each increment that is cured by the light, (“correct” defined by the manufacturer of the chosen product as this amount varies).^3912986E1156665A274D2A6CA39A4CC5BDBCA81FE17D266957^pimgpsh_thumbnail_win_distr
  3. Application of special gels to remove the most superficial, incompletely polymerized layer of resin that doesn’t go to completion due to inhibition of oxygen.
  4. Proper chair side techniques of isolation and vacuum ejection to minimize saliva contamination or ingestion.
  5. Final polish of the new filling to remove any residual, incompletely polymerized resin.

The interested reader is encouraged to send questions to [email protected]