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?

American Dental Association Perspective

"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 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 safer alternatives, and what to do if you already have mercury amalgams.

Fear and Amalgams

I have 6 amalgam fillings that I have not removed. If you do get your amalgam's 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 personal problem I have is that once I remove the amalgam, that replacing it with another synthetic material does not seem like much improvement. So then I have other toxic substances leeching into my body, who knows if those are safe? Safer, likely, but safe, unlikely.

Two people I know how their mercury fillings removed, both are into improving their health, neither of them had any noticeable health symptoms. One person wrote me who was experiencing tooth pain after removing a mercury filling.

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 very expensive to have it 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.