Amalgam Fillings

"There is concern, but no clear evidence, that mercury emitted from amalgam fillings may cause or worsen degenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease."

Source: Clarkson, Thomas W., et al. The toxicology of mercury – current exposures and clinical manifestations. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 349, October 30, 2003, pp. 1731-37

So you have mercury fillings, what do you do?

Please note: I do not agree with the above quote, but I am sharing it with you as a perspective. The evidence is clear that those mentioned diseases are linked in part to mercury exposure.

American Dental Association Perspective

You may not hear about how toxic mercury fillings are from your dentist because it is against dental ethics to inform the patient of this common sense information.

"Dental amalgam is a stable alloy made by combining elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and possibly other metallic elements. Although dental amalgam continues to be a safe, commonly used restorative material, some concern has been raised because of its mercury content. However, the mercury in amalgam combines with other metals to render it stable and safe for use in filling teeth."

Source: American Dental Association

Scientific Findings About Mercury Fillings

Scientists at the University of Milan point out that several studies have confirmed that mercury from amalgam dental fillings does enter tissues and that the mercury content of brain, thyroid, kidney, and pituitary gland tissue is proportional to the number of amalgam fillings. The health effects of amalgam fillings are not at all clear and need further investigation. German researchers point out that some of the composite materials used in the replacement of amalgam fillings may be themselves toxic.

Source: Guzzi, G, et al. Should amalgam fillings be removed? The Lancet, Vol. 360, December 21/28, 2002, p. 2081

Amalgams and Common Sense

I do not recommend anybody put a new filling in their mouth that contains mercury. This is not intelligent in light of the strong evidence to show that mercury is harmful.

The problem is more about what are the safer alternatives, and what to do if you already have mercury amalgams.

Fear and Amalgams

If you do get your amalgams removed, it should come from a place of intelligence and not out of fear. The fear you will get a disease, or a fear that all your health problems have to do with amalgams is not realistic for many people.

One problem people have with removing amalgam fillings is doing it safely. Your dentist must use a careful protocol to protect you from mercury shreds. This protocol should include a rubber dam, and taking supplements before or during the extraction to protect against mercury exposure.

Two people I know who had their mercury fillings removed are both into improving their health; neither of them had any noticeable health improvement. One person wrote me who was experiencing tooth pain after removing a mercury filling. Pain after mercury filling removal can happen because the replacement filling is not layered in properly, and the bonding cement can dry up a bit and pull out the inside tooth nerves, causing nerve pain.

Conclusion About Amalgams

It is a shame that dentists have put hazardous metals into our bodies. While it may be urgent and prudent to remove amalgam fillings for some people, I do not think that everybody has to have their amalgam removed to obtain optimal health and freedom from disease.

Removing amalgams is not great, and it is very expensive to have done correctly. The greatest risk of mercury exposure happens when the amalgam is removed, so you have to find a special dentist trained to safely remove them.

The book "Cure Tooth Decay," teaches you how to have healthy teeth so you can limit or avoid getting new fillings.

Other people have learned the secrets to stopping cavities with the published book Cure Tooth Decay

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