General Information for Anyone with
Amalgam or ‘silver’ fillings
Do
you have fillings in your teeth that are either black, gray or silver-colored? 
Mercury comes in many forms but in all of its forms, it is poisonous.
Mercury is more toxic than lead, partly because it is a liquid at room
temperature that constantly emits mercury vapor[1]
(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. 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.
What happens to my tooth as the mercury vaporizes?
When the mercury in your fillings vaporizes it
does so from the inside out such that a crevice is formed between the dental
restoration and your tooth. Bacteria, fluid and dirt seep into this
crevice. The technical term for this is microleakage and it leads to decay. The
longer you have had your fillings, the bigger the crevice is and the more
microleakage has occurred. However, decay under an amalgam filling cannot be
visualized. The image to the left shows
an x-ray of 3 teeth with amalgam fillings. X-rays cannot penetrate the metal so
it appears as a bright area, blocking visibility of the underlying area. Therefore, decay from microleakage into the
crevice cannot be seen by your dentist until it has spread beyond the site of
the filling. As long as you are not experiencing pain, the decay gets worse
over time while you continually inhale, swallow and spread bacteria (and
mercury) throughout your body. The name of this bacteria is Streptococcus
Mutans. Streptococcus Mutans causes disease
such as periodontitis and infective endocarditis, an infection of the
lining of the heart, treated with IV antibiotics and perhaps surgery but not
without long term consequences. Let’s
say your body is tough and fights off the infection until you do feel pain and make a trip to the dentist. At this point, only the expensive and sometimes painful process of root canal surgery can save the tooth. The x-ray image was taken from a dental teaching site. Here is what the Instructor had to say about the tooth in the image: “Chronic inflammation in the dental pulp due to the presence of large, old amalgam fillings can increase the difficulty of root canal therapy. Earlier root canal therapy should be considered in these situations”. Translation: The patient is in for some heavy-duty pain and suffering.
[1]
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.html
What
does Mercury do in my brain and body? 
Why would a Dentist put
mercury in my mouth? That’s a long story[3], –
but it is fueled by the same thing 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, require heating 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.
[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 it 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.
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[1]. Instead the ADA denounces dentists who remove
mercury fillings on the basis that it could improve health[2],
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”[3]. Is
that the kind of scientific evidence you need to feel confident in the use of
mercury in your body? Just because we have been doing something for 150 years
does not mean it is the best way to do it. Back in the day, I would have been
riding a horse to work but for more than 100 years there exists better methods,
so I drive a car. The ADA and the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) have recently announced that yes, amalgams do
continually emit mercury vapor in your mouth, that yes, mercury amalgam dumped
into the dentist’s drains and trash is hazardous to the environment – because
it ends up in the food chain, but no, mercury vapor escaping from your amalgams
into your brain and body are not dangerous. Huh? What is wrong with this
picture? Most likely your dentist is not knowingly poisoning you. Your
dentists and health care professionals think that mercury is safe because they,
like you, trust the FDA and the ADA – but in this case, they shouldn’t.
There is too much at stake for these institutions to admit that billions of poisonous
mercury-containing fillings currently exist in our mouths.
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[4] 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[5].
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[6].
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.
[1]
Dr. James Hardy’s terminology in his book, Mercury-free
[3] Journal
of the American Dental Association (April, 1990)
[4] A
controlled trial is prospective and contains comparison groups. It is the gold
standard scientific test of a hypothesis.
[6] 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.
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[1]. 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?
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. A separate sheet is included in this
packet (and on the blog) 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?
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 a test
called the 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/.
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[2]
Profile Analysis Test. The following website explains what is being
tested and why, offers the test for $129, and
[1] 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.
[2]
Greek word for purple
What
can I do to stop mercury from accumulating in my brain and body? If
you are not sick and do not believe you have any symptoms of mercury toxicity I
recommend that you visit a mercury-safe dentist to have them removed. [If you ARE Sick, please read the
information sheet for Symptom Sufferers.] A
mercury-safe dentist is not the same as a mercury-free dentist. A mercury-safe
dentist does not place amalgam fillings but will remove them carefully to
minimize your exposure to mercury. A mercury-free dentist will follow a very
specific protocol to ensure you are not exposed to any mercury. Many dentists
are mercury-safe. You can call local dental offices
directly and ask them if they use amalgam in their practice. Remember, you will
most likely be speaking with office personnel who may not have heard the term –
so keep probing and ask about ‘silver’ fillings also. If you speak with a dentist, s/he can answer
questions that you pose to them but they cannot instigate the conversation (the
ADA is a powerful organization, need I say more?). I can’t guarantee it but if
you have had your amalgam fillings for 10 years or more there is a good chance
there is tooth decay under the filling and your insurance will cover most of it. 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.
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. In an easy-to-read book, he describes how he discovered the truth about amalgams in Chapter 1.
Chapter 2 is a compilation of letters from his patients who went from sickness
to health upon becoming mercury-free. Chapter 3 describes the history of how
amalgam came into use and why it is still being used today. Chapter 4 describes the link between
mercury and a multitude of diseases, it provides the mechanism of action,
it provides the evidence. Chapter 5 describes how unnatural levels of mercury
pollute our environment and are poisoning us in ways we never even knew of.
Without knowing – I have been contributing to the mercury pollution of our
world in several ways. I bet you are too. Chapter 6 summarizes the book,
explains what you can do, and what to do if you make the choice to become
mercury-free. This book was published in 1996 but sadly, globally things have
not changed much – except, since that time a wealth of evidence has accumulated
that should have caused the ADA and the FDA to reverse their outdated claims
that amalgam fillings are safe.
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 prior to any other actions. If you can’t obtain a copy of the book,
please let me know and I will assist you.
Early symptoms of mercury toxicity
Perhaps you do have vague symptoms that you have been ignoring.
Perhaps you just chock up your memory problems to getting older, your insomnia
to stress, your road rage to ‘too many rats in a cage’. Wait a minute, are you
thinking “What did I just read? I could be healthier/smarter/stronger if I got
my amalgam fillings removed?” I didn’t say that – but you thought it! I suggest
you conduct a mental inventory of your life and dental history to determine
when any 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. By the way, cigarettes also
contain mercury – one more reason to quit?
One more thought, if your amalgam
fillings have been in your mouth for 10 years or more, they probably look more
like the image to the right than the ‘silver’ colored ones on Page 1, and yep –
they are visible to others when you are talking and laughing.
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. I also have nothing to gain by strongly suggesting that you read Dr. Hardy’s book. But you should read it before either dismissing this or moving forward with removal. Why? Because 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 band wagon.
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.
Email: teresafr55@gmail.com
Email: teresafr55@gmail.com
Blog: http://mercury4dummies.blogspot.com/
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