Mouth of Metal!

The metal fillings in our mouths are known as amalgam fillings. They have been used for over 150 years to fill tooth cavities and are still widely used today. They are a mixture of metals, and are approximately 50% (43-54%) mercury, the rest being an alloy mainly of tin, silver and copper. There is much increasing controversy over their use due to the extreme toxicity of mercury to the body. In fact the World Health Organisation states that there is NO SAFE LIMIT of mercury in the human body. It is so toxic that if you put the amount of mercury contained in an average filling into an average lake the water would be rendered too toxic for human consumption!

So to have such a toxic metal compressed permanently into our mouths is both worrying and disturbing to say the very least! Many dentists will justify using mercury as they say it is stable once in the filling, but there has been much research to prove otherwise and that mercury gas is being constantly released. Even if this were not the case and the dentist was right, the extreme danger lies in the wearing down of old fillings and the breaking of current fillings whereby an extreme release of mercury gas will be experienced.

The fact is that mercury is so toxic that extreme measures need to be taken in the removal of amalgam fillings such as a throat bung, a detoxification programme both before and after removal, specialist equipment and an air filter in the room. So doesn’t this suggest that it would be extremely toxic for your body if a filling were to break down in your mouth either from eating something hard or from wear and tear? What if (as many do) your filling came out during eating and was swallowed?

HEALTH CONCERNS

So let’s look at the toxic effects of mercury on the body.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency:

Health effects caused by short-term exposure to high levels of mercury vapours: Cough, Sore throat, Shortness of breath, Chest pain, Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhoea, Increase in blood pressure or heart rate, A metallic taste in the mouth, Eye irritation, Headache, Vision problems.

Health effects caused by long-term exposure to mercury vapours: Anxiety, Excessive shyness, Anorexia, Sleeping problems, Loss of appetite, Irritability, Fatigue, Forgetfulness, Tremors, Changes in vision, Changes in hearing.

This is just the official story. When we look at unbiased independent research, we see a much more worrying picture.

Holistic dentist, Paul Gilbert states that there are certain links to amalgam fillings and Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, memory loss, learning disabilities, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. Dr. Hal Huggins is an expert in mercury removal dentistry, and he reports on numerous psychological disorders that appear to be the effect of mercury in amalgams, including borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, insanity of all kinds, schizophrenia, panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

There are also reports of definite links to mercury exposure in all forms of cancer.

Have you ever had electrical shock type feelings in your teeth when you have introduced another metal such as tin foil into your mouth? This is called “oral galvanism” and is a type of allergic reaction to the amalgam fillings. The metal in the filling becomes like a battery when it reacts with saliva and then when a different metal is introduced it causes an electric current.

It is also believed after independent research that mercury exposure causes other dental problems including periodontal disease, gingivitis and tooth loss.

Mercury exposure will also effect the gut and especially the internal flora balance and has been known to be the cause of recurrent candida yeast overgrowth infections. This greatly reduces the immune defences and can also cause IBS, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis and much much more.

Safe Removal of Amalgam Fillings

So there is no question in my eyes that amalgam fillings are a definite no-no, and it greatly disturbs me that they are still even being fitted into children’s mouths. But if you have these fillings, what can you do about it?

Most dentists will not touch amalgam filling removal (I wonder why!) but they will use the excuse that they are “better left alone” – well not in MY mouth, thank you!!

First you need to seek a Holistic Dentist who appreciates the dangers of the mercury removal. At the very least there should be a special suction fitment that encases the tooth, an air filter in the room to remove mercury gas released, a bung in the throat or at least a protection to stop particles of mercury being swallowed, a nose mask or cover for the nose to prevent breathing in the mercury gas released and you should also be advised on an appropriate detoxification programme to follow before and after the removal.

I personally had 7 amalgam fillings removed in 2011, plus a crown removed and the tooth extracted as it was full of amalgam and I could not afford the work to have a crown re-fitted! Lloyd had 6 plus a root canal removed (they are also very bad news – just search for “root canal effects”).

Detoxing Mercury from the Body

As we have already done a lot of research in detox, we decided to follow our own detox protocol. Daily, for 2 weeks leading up to removal we took 1 teaspoon of zeolite which is an excellent heavy metal chelator (it bind with it to pull it out of the body), plus twice the recommended amount of chlorella, another chelator and superfood. On the day we also took charcoal tablets which were provided by our dentist.

There is much discussion on the amount of fillings that should be removed at a time. Our dentist suggested one side of the mouth at a time with a maximum of 3 fillings each visit as some were only small.

We never felt any negative effects from the removal and I have since succeeded in combating my persistent candida infection for the first time in many years!

Cost

It is very comforting to know that our mouths are not poisoning our bodies any more and we are really happy we had them done. It can cost a lot, but we paid approximately £60 per filling depending on size plus a few extras – but this was spread over a couple of months. You may find it more expensive in the city so it may be worth looking for an out-of-town dentist.

I was quoted £75 per filling at a cosmetic dentist but when I emailed to ask what protocols they used to ensure the safe removal of the amalgam and negate the negative effects of mercury exposure they did not answer my query. So not surprisingly I did not go there!

You may also find out about a dental plan which can give you a good discount off the work done (it was worth it for us as the discount we received was greater than a year’s subscription!)

A few last pieces of advice. You must remember that you have a choice – if you or your children need a filling – do not settle for the amalgam, even if you have to contribute towards the cost it is well worth it as there is no price when it comes to our health and the health of our children!

On removal of amalgams, think of it as an investment in your future health.

There is no doubt about the extreme toxicity of mercury, however you must also use common sense. Some people go to the very extremes of strict protocol, doing only one filling at a time which would inflate costs, put other holistic dentists down, and charge the earth for their service, so just use a bit of common sense too!