New Mexico Dental Journal Winter 2015-2016

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How Do We Prevent Decay?, continued
The Silver Bullets
The new “Silver Bullet” products:
Silver Nitrate (AgNO3) with fluoride
varnish or under sealants and Silver
Diamine Fluoride are well-known
silver compounds with antimicro-
bial effects for the prevention and
treatment of infections including
dental caries. Over a thousand years
ago silver bowls were instrumental
in making water potable. Silver
nitrate and silver foil are used for
the prevention and treatment of
ocular infections in newborns, for
surgical procedures and steriliza-
tion, and more recently dental caries.
These compounds are incorporated
in acute burn coverings, catheter
linings, water purification systems,
silver sutures, and hospital gowns.
There is even a cleaning products
company, Norwex, which has long
used silver compounds in their
cleaning agents and cloths.
Silver diamine f luoride is specifi-
cally formulated for dentists to use
without experiencing the severe
staining of lesions when it sterilizes
and arrests them in pits and on root
caries. Both compounds are capable
of preventing and treating tooth
decay by sterilizing lesions or prepa-
rations and by denaturing dentinal
protein thus arresting active lesions.
You may think of silver nitrate use
in the photographic and explosives
industries and in histology to stain
reticular fibers, proteins and nucleic
acids. It has been used in medicine
as an antiseptic and cauterizing
agent for centuries. Older parents
remember a diluted solution of silver
nitrate dropped into their newborns’
eyes to prevent contraction of gonor-
rhea from the mother before the
widespread use of antibiotics. In
1881, it was used as a cauterizing
agent to remove granulation tissue,
and in 1827, it was used by a British
surgeon to cauterize the wound of
General Sir James Abbott in India
to prevent the onset of rabies from a
mad dog bite. Dentists have used it
to heal oral ulcers. Podiatrists have
used it to kill cells located in the
nail bed, and physicians to cauterize
warts and superficial blood vessels in
the nose to prevent nose bleeds.
There is one really bad side effect,
however. Whatever it comes into
contact with, it stains black (see
photo’s below). So skin, decay, and
countertops turn black from its use.
Argyria occurs from the consumption
of colloidal silver solutions (<1 gm)
not silver nitrate, which turns the
skin and organs a blue-gray color. A
bottle of silver nitrate liquid can be
obtained from any dental products
company for less than $100.
11 nmdental.org
ToothDecayPrevention