Biological Dentistry · Bad Schwartau, near Lübeck
Safe amalgam & metal removal, under a protective protocol.
Replacing old mercury and metal fillings without unnecessary exposure - rubber dam, high-volume suction and supplemental oxygen, then a metal-free restoration. Care for patients near Lübeck who want their dentistry to respect the whole body.
01 What it is
Why amalgam is removed with such care.
Amalgam fillings are roughly half mercury, bound into a silver-grey metal alloy. While a filling sits quietly in the tooth, the moment it is drilled out it releases mercury vapour and fine particles. Removing it like an ordinary filling would expose you - and the clinical team - to that material at exactly the wrong moment.
That is why we treat removal as its own procedure with its own protective protocol. The aim is simple: take the old amalgam or metal out cleanly, capture what is released instead of letting it be inhaled or swallowed, and rebuild the tooth with a material your body does not have to fight.
- Mercury vapour and particles captured, not breathed in or absorbed.
- Old metal fillings replaced with metal-free, biocompatible materials.
- A measured, unhurried procedure - protection over speed.
- Part of a wider metal-free, biological treatment plan.
Amalgam & health
Amalgam and your health - what the evidence says.
Dental amalgam has been debated for decades. Rather than adding to the noise, here is the regulatory picture in the EU as it stands - dated, verifiable and without exaggeration.
Amalgam is roughly half mercury by weight. Under the EU Mercury Regulation (EU) 2017/852, dental amalgam has not been permitted for treating deciduous teeth, children under 15 or pregnant and breastfeeding patients since 1 July 2018, except when the practitioner deems it strictly necessary on medical grounds. Since 1 January 2019, amalgam may only be used in pre-dosed encapsulated form and practices must operate amalgam separators.
With the amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1849, the EU went further: since 1 January 2025 the use of dental amalgam is prohibited for all patients in the EU, unless the dentist considers it strictly necessary for the specific medical needs of the patient. New fillings in the EU are therefore, as a rule, metal-free today.
Two honest points belong next to those facts. First, the EU phase-out is driven above all by environmental mercury policy, not by a finding that intact fillings are proven to harm the average patient. Second, health authorities do not recommend routinely drilling out intact, well-functioning amalgam fillings as a preventive measure. Where a filling is defective, needs replacing anyway, or where a patient has individual sensitivities or simply wants a metal-free mouth, a protocol-based, protected removal - as described on this page - is the careful way to do it. We do not promise that removing amalgam will cure any general health condition.
Status: July 2026. Sources: Regulation (EU) 2017/852 on mercury; Regulation (EU) 2024/1849 amending it. General information, not medical advice.
02 The approach
What goes into the body
matters as much as what comes out.
Taking the metal out is only half the work. We replace it with materials chosen for how they sit with your physiology - so the result is not just a repaired tooth, but one less burden for the body to carry.
03 The protection
Five layers between you and the metal.
A protected removal is built from several measures working together. None of them is dramatic on its own - together they keep released mercury and particles away from you during the few minutes the old filling is actually being taken out.
Rubber dam isolation
A thin protective sheet seals off the tooth being worked on, so fragments and cooling water stay on the dam - not in the mouth or throat.
High-volume suction at the tooth
Strong suction placed right at the working site draws away vapour, spray and particles the instant they are produced.
Supplemental oxygen
Clean air or oxygen is supplied so that, while drilling, you are breathing fresh air rather than anything released into the room.
Additional air filtration & barriers
Room air filtration and protective barriers reduce what lingers in the air and protect skin, eyes and clothing during the procedure.
Sectioning with cooling water
The amalgam is cut and lifted out in larger pieces under cooling water, which limits heat and keeps vapour to a minimum.
04 In the practice
See it explained in English.
A short film on how a protected amalgam removal is carried out at the practice, in your own language.
Removal is not a thing to rush. The whole point is to take the old metal out cleanly - and leave nothing behind for the body to carry.
On the protected-removal protocol
05 What to expect
From first message to a metal-free tooth.
Consultation
We look at your fillings and your concerns, and agree whether and in what order to replace them.
Protected removal
With the rubber dam, suction and oxygen in place, the old amalgam or metal is sectioned and lifted out.
Metal-free restoration
The cleaned tooth is rebuilt with a biocompatible ceramic or composite material - nothing metallic goes back in.
Aftercare & review
We check the result, plan any remaining teeth and keep the work under review as part of your wider care.
06 Who it is for
When a protected removal makes sense.
Many people simply want to move away from metal in the mouth as part of a more biological approach to their health. Others are guided here because they are sensitive to metals, are planning metal-free restorative work, or want old grey fillings replaced with natural, tooth-coloured material.
- You would like old amalgam or metal fillings gone - without unnecessary exposure.
- You are pursuing metal-free, biological dentistry overall.
- You are sensitive to metals or simply prefer to avoid them.
- You want natural, tooth-coloured restorations in place of grey metal.
07 Questions
Good to know before your removal.
Drilling out old amalgam releases mercury vapour and fine particles. A protective protocol - rubber dam isolation, high-volume suction at the tooth, supplemental oxygen, extra air filtration and barriers - is designed to capture that material so it is not inhaled or swallowed during removal, protecting both you and the clinical team.
We isolate the tooth with a rubber dam, use high-volume suction placed directly at the working site, supply supplemental oxygen so you breathe clean air, add room air filtration and use protective barriers. The amalgam is sectioned and lifted out in larger pieces with cooling water to limit heat and vapour.
Once the amalgam is out and the tooth is cleaned, it is rebuilt with a metal-free, biocompatible material - a tooth-coloured ceramic or composite restoration chosen to fit the tooth and your individual tolerance, so nothing metallic goes back in.
Yes. The practice is at Hauptstraße 50 in Bad Schwartau, a short distance from Lübeck, and consultation and treatment can be carried out in English for international and English-speaking patients.
Not automatically. Health authorities do not recommend routinely removing intact, well-functioning amalgam fillings as a preventive measure, and we do not promise that removal will cure any general health condition. Removal is worth considering when a filling is defective or has to be replaced anyway, when there are individual sensitivities, or when you have decided you want a metal-free mouth. What matters then is that the removal is done under a protective protocol rather than like an ordinary filling - and that decision is made individually, after an honest assessment of your situation.
SMART stands for Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique - a set of protective measures for amalgam removal published by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT). Its core elements are the ones described on this page: isolating the tooth with a rubber dam, high-volume suction directly at the working site, a separate air or oxygen supply for the patient, additional air filtration and barriers, and cutting the filling out in larger sections under cooling water instead of grinding it away. Our protected removal protocol is built on these same protective principles.
Yes. Beyond amalgam, old metal fillings, metal-based crowns and other metallic dental work can be assessed and, where appropriate, replaced with metal-free, biocompatible restorations as part of a wider metal-free, biological treatment plan.
08 Related care
Where this fits in your treatment.
Amalgam removal rarely stands alone. It is one step in a metal-free, biological approach - these treatments often go alongside it.
Biological Dentistry
The wider whole-body approach that protected amalgam removal is part of.
02Full-Ceramic Veneers
Natural, metal-free restorations to rebuild and refine teeth after removal.
03Ceramic Implants
Metal-free zirconia implants where a tooth ultimately cannot be saved.
043D / CBCT Imaging
Precise, low-radiation diagnostics to plan restorative work accurately.
Ready to replace your old metal fillings?
Tell us about your situation. We reply personally - in English - with the next steps for a protected, metal-free removal near Lübeck.
Request an appointment