General
Information for Folks with Amalgam fillings and Health Issues
Are
you tired of feeling sick?
Are you (or a loved one)[1] tired of trying to explain symptoms to doctors that are vague
and sometimes change on a daily basis?
Are you tired of going through all kinds of tests that show only negative
results? Are you tired of trying medications and homeopathic remedies and not
getting better? Have you been diagnosed with an auto immune deficiency disease[2], diseases that appears to have no cause and
that the medical profession labels ‘incurable’? You know you are not supposed to feel this way, you didn’t feel this way in the
past, but now you do. Some days are better than others and you hate to admit it, but you are a
sick puppy.
You chalk it all up to getting older….but is that really the case?
Do
you have fillings in your teeth that are either black, gray or silver-colored? Any
filling in your mouth that is either black, gray or silver is a filling that
contains 40 - 70% mercury. Your dentist may refer to these as ‘amalgam’ or
‘silver’ fillings, however they are less than 20% silver. The fillings are
called amalgams by some dentists because amalgam means ‘mixture of metals’. The
metals used to make amalgam fillings are mercury, copper, tin, silver and zinc
– in that order. Others may use the term ‘silver’ fillings because of their
color. Although it is misleading, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) still allows the use of the term ‘silver
fillings’ to refer to amalgam fillings. 
Mercury comes in many forms but in all of its forms, it is
poisonous. Mercury is more toxic than lead, because it is a liquid at
room temperature that constantly emits mercury vapor[3]
(just as water continually vaporizes at room temperature). All other metals,
including lead are a solid material at room temperature. They cannot hurt you
if you do not touch them. Mercury
escapes into the air that you breathe – and therefore, it can hurt you even if you don't touch it.
Mercury atoms, and compounds formed with mercury in your mouth, are being
absorbed into your body and into your brain 24/7. Chewing, brushing and
grinding your teeth substantially increase the amount of mercury that is
released from your fillings into your mouth by 10-fold1. You cannot see, smell or taste mercury as
it is vaporizing so you aren’t aware that it is happening. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
considers the amalgam, removed from teeth, toxic waste. If you have amalgams in
your mouth when you die, they are considered toxic waste.
[1]
Throughout this information sheet, substitute ‘or a loved one’ for ‘you’ as it
applies to your situation.
[2]
These include Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Autism, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Alzheimer’s
disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), etc. Other
diseases linked to mercury include attention deficit disorder (ADD and ADHD),
heart disease, etc.
[3]
Scientific evidence was published as early as 1979 to support the fact that
mercury vaporized in your mouth however the American Dental Association
denounced this until recently: fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/DentalProducts/DentalAmalgam/ucm171094.htm
What
does Mercury do in my brain and body?
S-H bonds are important in all of the cellular processes that occur within your
body to keep you alive and healthy. When mercury clings to the S-H bond it doesn’t stop all of those natural
cellular processes that keep you healthy from occurring, it just interferes
with them, gets in the way - so your
body has to work harder to keep things working properly. Think of dirt accumulating on a bicycle chain
– at first the chain works pretty well, but as more dirt accumulates it
eventually gets harder and harder to pedal. If you already have a pre-existing health
issue, mercury can interfere with your efforts at trying to stay healthy. If
you have a genetic make-up that predisposes you to certain illness, for example
if you have close relatives with major depression, mercury can trigger that
illness in you. If you are completely healthy, slow and chronic mercury release
into your brain and body can take that away from you. Maybe tomorrow… maybe in
10 or 20 years… (read the Information Sheet for non-symptom sufferers).
Body fluids such as blood and
urine are used to test for illness. However, no matter what your health care
providers tell you, normal blood
and urine tests cannot be used to diagnose chronic (slow and ongoing) mercury
toxicity. That is because the sicker you are the harder it is for your body to
release mercury into your blood or urine, it remains in your organs. This
is not always understood by all members of the health profession for a variety
of reasons.There is something called a Urine
Challenge Test (or Provocation Test) that
will help identify your mercury load. This test compares a sample of your
normal urine with a sample of your urine after you take a substance called a
chelator. A chelator is something you can take
orally that seeks out, finds and captures
mercury so it can be excreted in the urine. More information about this test
can be found at: https://www.holisticmd.org/mercury-toxicity/provocation-testing/.
Detoxification protocol
It could take several months to remove your
amalgams depending on how many you have – this is not an overnight process or
one to be taken lightly. During this time,
you will need to continue taking nutritional supplements. After removal, the
healing process speeds up so there will be an even greater demand for the
hormones and enzymes that were depleted. Therefore, nutritional and hormonal supplements should be taken before, during and
after amalgam removal. Your mercury-free dentist will have a Detoxification
Protocol for you to follow. After removal they will add supplements that
will ‘pull out’ the mercury that is hiding in your organs, bind to it and help you excrete it. These
supplements are called chelators that will seek out, find and capture the
mercury so it can be excreted (think of Pacman only this Pac only gobbles metal).
An example of a
chelator is MSM, which is a Sulfur-containing
agent[1].
Sulfur is an important nutrient required by our body and taking MSM is a
natural way to get more of it. Also, MSM binds to Hg and draws it into the
urine to be excreted. To learn more about this supplement see http://www.msm-info.com/. I warn you – the link
contains a lot of medical/scientific information but if you can wade through
it, it might be worth it Depending on how sick you are, you may need to make other
life changes that will help you get better. Following a healthy lifestyle is
important during detoxification.
I have a PhD in Neuroscience
and my field of study is Addiction. I am not a Dentist or a medical
professional. I have nothing to gain by providing you this information to
examine whether you should get your amalgams removed. My motivation is that I
care about people, including you. You should have all of the knowledge you
can to achieve the one thing that matters most in life – Your GOOD HEALTH and that
of your loved ones. Keep reading all that you can– but please be careful of the
internet. Remember that $dollars$
fuel our world and once a need has been established, scammers hop on the bandwagon. Another very useful book is The Poison in your Teeth by Tom
Mcguire, DDS! My take is that it is more complex than Dr. Hardy’s book and may
be difficult to read for folks without medical or scientific training. He also
refers you to his website throughout the book to buy his products.
Why would a Dentist put
mercury in my mouth? That’s a long story[3], –
but it is fueled by the same things that fuels many of the bad decisions that we
make as a society: Money and Fear. In the 1800’s amalgam fillings became
popular because the alternatives were excruciatingly painful, expensive and
didn’t work very well. Two of the most commonly used alternatives were either
losing the tooth (“Ouch and Hey, I needed that!”) or using other metals to fill
the cavity. Other metals, being solids at room temperature, have to be heated
to high temperatures before pouring the melted substance into a cavity. Mercury
is a liquid at room temperature and so it can be mixed with other metals to
form a paste that can be placed into a cavity at a much lower temperature.
Its toxic properties were minimized in the
mid-1800s because amalgam fillings were a huge moneymaker and people liked the
fact that they did not have to have their teeth pulled or have hot (Ouch
again!) metal dripped into their mouths. Since the mid-1800s, although better
and safer materials have been developed, amalgam fillings continue to be used
by many dentists. To make a long story short, ignorance, greed and fear of litigation underlie the continued use of
mercury when mercury-free materials are currently available. Imagine the
‘floodgates of litigation’ that would be opened if the American Dental Association (ADA) announced that mercury in amalgam
fillings can lead to poor health[4]. Instead the ADA denounces dentists who remove
mercury fillings on the basis that it could improve health[5],
and stand by their statement, “Since amalgam has been used for more than 150
years, literally billions of amalgam fillings have been successfully used to
restore decayed teeth”[6]. Is
that the kind of scientific evidence you need
[1]
Please contact me at inquiries@franklinbrainimaging.com
to receive a list of the references providing the scientific evidence to
support any of the statements made in this document. There is also a reference
list on the blog site.
[2]
Mercury binds to a multitude of substances but is has a high affinity for
sulfhydryl and selenium bonds.
[3]
More of this story can be found in Chapter 3 of Dr. James. Hardy’s book, Mercury-free
where he describes the history of amalgam and how it came into general
practice.
[4]
Dr. James Hardy’s terminology in his book, Mercury-free
[5]
American Dental Association Code of Ethics, November 2016.
[6] Journal
of the American Dental Association (April, 1990)
If people are getting sick,
shouldn’t this be enough for the FDA and ADA to amend their previous statements
about mercury being safe?
You would think. But even though both
life experience and scientific experiments show that any exposure to mercury is
dangerous, few controlled studies[1] can
definitively link mercury exposure to illness. Some studies show a link, some
don’t. The ADA and FDA focus on the trials that don’t. Recently, previously
published data have been re-examined showing that genetic make-up plays a role[2].
What
amount of mercury is safe?
The standards for determining how much mercury is safe
have been re-evaluated and made stricter over the years. The most poisonous
form of mercury accumulates in fish (methylmercury). When mercury vapor
combines with the saliva and bacteria in your mouth, it makes methylmercury. The graph to the right shows how much
mercury is being released into
your mouth at 3 time points throughout the day[3].
The black bars show the mercury concentration in saliva before chewing and the
white bars show the concentration after chewing. Note that levels climb
overnight and after chewing. Studies show that even
small blood concentrations of
mercury (below 10 micrograms per liter) appear to result in
developmental effects, and represent unacceptable risks of birth defects and
developmental effects in infants. The graph shows that up to 60 micrograms per
liter of mercury is in your mouth upon rising, 6 times as much as that linked
with birth defects[4]. Studies have convinced the
FDA to report that exposure to mercury vapor from amalgam fillings causes
mercury to accumulate in kidneys, brain and other organs.
So, what amount of mercury is safe?
How
much of a toxic substance that is vaporizing in your mouth and lodging itself
in your brain do you feel comfortable with?
[1] A
controlled trial is prospective and contains comparison groups. It is the gold
standard scientific test of a hypothesis.
[2] If
genetics underlie an effect, it could be washed out if not controlled for.
[3] Hg
(y axis) is the chemical symbol for mercury. 3 samples were taken at each
timepoint. Reprinted from Krauss et al 1997 in a study of over 20,000 people.
[4] There is a direct correlation between the
number of amalgam fillings in a mother’s mouth and mercury levels in her infant
– mercury passes from Mom to the unborn baby through the placenta and through
Mom’s breast milk to the infant.
What symptoms are associated with mercury toxicity?
The symptoms are numerous, varied and broad and are very similar to the
symptoms associated with other heavy metal poisoning. Because your brain is
a close and easy target, early symptoms tend to be neurological (emotional instability, brain fog, tremors,
fatigue). Symptoms can vary based on
your exposure to mercury through other avenues and your exposure to other heavy
metals. Take a few minutes to conduct a mental inventory of your life including your
dental history to determine when your symptoms began or if/when they worsened.
For me and many others, there was a connection between amalgam placement (or
unsafe removal) and symptoms. If your
heavy-metal exposure started prior to having amalgam fillings your symptoms
could have been exacerbated by the fillings.
A
separate sheet is included in this packet that lists common symptoms.
What
alternative materials are available?
The most common alternative materials are called composites but other
options are available. Composites are made out of nontoxic materials that
do not vaporize in your mouth. They look and feel like teeth. They are not
poured into a cavity but rather are bonded directly to the tooth – reducing the
probability of decay forming between the tooth and the material. The picture to the right shows what teeth with
look like with amalgams (top) and after removal and replacement with composite
material (bottom). The important thing to know is You have a Choice ! ! !
Check out the 'You have a Choice' Post that provides information on the different materials that are available.
Is there a test to see if I have mercury in my
brain and body?
There is another test that examines a molecule
that mercury affects. This has been shown to be the most effective within individuals
who are sick and have difficulty excreting heavy metals from their bodies. It
is called the Urine Porphyrin[1]
Profile Analysis Test. The following website explains what is being
tested and why, offers the test for $129, and includes a doctor’s report:
[1]
Greek word for purple
What
can I do to stop mercury from accumulating in my brain and body? It bears repeating that your doctors and dentists have been biased by
the FDA and ADA statements. They have not been given ALL of the available information. They have
only been provided with the information that supports the claim that mercury
can’t hurt you. You must find a doctor or naturopath who will listen to you, run the tests
and offer you an intelligent diagnosis. Get your tests done, review your
results, then decide your next course of action.
If you decide to get
your amalgams removed, safe removal is crucial. If
you are mercury toxic it is extremely dangerous to your health to have your
amalgams removed without proper procedures in place to protect you from further
exposure to mercury.
You must find a mercury-free
dentist who is sympathetic and knowledgeable about safe removal in
mercury-affected individuals. A protocol
for safe removal, published by IAOMT
(International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology), called SMART (Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique) is
available at https://iaomt/safe-removal-amalgam-fillings/. Your mercury-free
dentist may use this protocol or one they have developed themselves that
adheres to the same principles of keeping you safe.
To find a mercury-free dentist near you
visit:
http://www.talkinternational.com/holistic-biological-mercury-free-dentists-directory/#!directory/map
https://www.mercuryfreedentists.com
Keep in mind that
many dentists are mercury-safe but do not advertise themselves as mercury-free
as they would be denounced by the ADA[1]
so if you don’t see a mercury-free
dentist in your area on the lists provided, call the closest one to you and ask
them to recommend someone. Check all of the lists provided because different
doctors are listed on different lists. Unfortunately, I could not find a
comprehensive list – the dentist has to pay a fee to be on a list and
established dentists don’t need to advertise. You can also call dental offices directly. They
can answer questions that you pose to them but they cannot instigate the
conversation (the ADA is a powerful organization, need I say more?). Make
sure to enquire whether they use amalgam AT ALL in their practice (other than
to remove it). Staff at dental offices that are not mercury-free don’t really
understand that you aren’t just looking for mercury-free options you are
looking for an office that does not support the use of amalgam fillings under
any circumstance. Why? Because just
walking in to a dental office that places amalgam fillings puts you at risk –
as it is continually vaporizing, it is even present in the air in the waiting
room.
[1]
American Dental Association Code of Ethics, November 2016.
Detoxification protocol
Your
brain and body have been fighting off the effects of amalgam fillings since the
day they were placed. This detoxification has depleted you of hormones,
enzymes, and other molecules necessary for good health. Mercury toxicity
affects everyone differently so before your amalgam restorations are removed,
blood testing should be performed to determine what deficiencies you may have.
Based on the blood test results your health professional can evaluate what
nutritional and hormonal supplements are needed to prepare you for removal.
If you do decide to get
your amalgams removed, you may also want to consider detoxing your brain and
body of any accumulated mercury.
Check out the sample Detoxification Protocol Post
Check out the sample Detoxification Protocol Post
Note that the sicker you are, and the
longer you have been sick, the harder it is to remove the mercury and regain
health (think of that bicycle chain). For some, symptoms are irreversible,
especially some of the neurological symptoms. However, stories abound,
including my own in which symptoms CAN be erased or minimized and good health
restored. Sometimes with healthcare choices we have to gather as much information as possible, weigh the risks and benefits and then decide the next
course of action.
If
all of this sounds
tough, it is - but if you are motivated
to get better, and I know you are - You
can Do this!
Mercury-free
This Information Sheet is just a brief summary of some things you should
know about the amalgam fillings in your mouth. If you have questions it is more
than likely that they could be answered by reading Dr. James Hardy’s book, Mercury-free.
Dr. Hardy is a practicing Dentist (Health
Centered Dentistry www.mercury-free.com) who
questioned the use of mercury during his dental schooling. That didn’t go over well
with his professors so he decided to do his own research. In an easy-to-read
book, he describes how he discovered the
truth about amalgams. However, a brand new edition of this book is now available (Amazon). See cover below. It will lead you on your journey to becoming mercury-free!
Sure, at one time amalgam was the
best solution for saving teeth
–
but those days are over!
Several factions and groups have
attempted to sue the FDA for continuing to support the use of amalgam fillings,
the use of which was never formally proposed to the FDA (it was ‘grandfathered’
in). A lawsuit is currently ongoing. If any of you have ever attempted to fight
authority – you know why we have not yet won our fight. Greed, fueled by money
and power are tough to beat. Nevertheless,
we do have the power to take care of
ourselves and our loved ones.
If you plan on taking any steps to rid yourself of mercury I urge you
to read Mercury-free by James Hardy and myself prior to any other actions (Available on Amazon). If you can't afford the book, we offer it for free. If you can easily afford the book, consider a donation to our cause. We want EVERYONE to have this knowledge that will improve their health and the health of their loved ones.
Disclaimer:
I have a PhD in Neuroscience
and my field of study is Addiction. I am not a Dentist or a medical
professional. I have nothing to gain by providing you this information to
examine whether you should get your amalgams removed. My motivation is that I
care about people, including you. You should have all of the knowledge you
can to achieve the one thing that matters most in life – Your GOOD HEALTH and that
of your loved ones. Keep reading all that you can– but please be careful of the
internet. Remember that $dollars$
fuel our world and once a need has been established, scammers hop on the bandwagon. Another very useful book is The Poison in your Teeth by Tom
Mcguire, DDS! My take is that it is more complex than Dr. Hardy’s book and may
be difficult to read for folks without medical or scientific training. He also
refers you to his website throughout the book to buy his products.
I wish you all good things in your
quest
for
knowledge and optimal health
"All truth passes
through three stages: first it is ridiculed,
second it is violently opposed, and third it is
accepted as self-evident." Arthur
Schopenhauer
Prepared by Teresa R. Franklin, Ph.D.,
Blog: http://mercury4dummies.blogspot.com/
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