AMALGAM FILLINGS: Are They Safe?

©2004 Suzin Stockton
 

Mercury is a “heavy metal,” meaning that is has a relatively high density, at least five times that of water. It is also a toxic metal, nearly as toxic as lead and arsenic.1 Because of its high density, it cannot be degraded or destroyed. Mercury therefore persists in the environment – and accumulates in our bodies, slowly poisoning us.

While there are numerous sources of mercury contamination, including pollution from coal-burning power plants and fish from polluted waters, the vast majority of our body-burden of mercury – 87% - comes from dental amalgam (“silver”) fillings, which are 50% mercury and continuously emit mercury vapor.2

Mercury vapor escapes from amalgams every time we chew (food or gum). Drinking foods or beverages that are acidic and/or have been heated will also accelerate the emission of mercury vapor from dental amalgams; so will the grinding of teeth and even tooth brushing. In fact, these activities result in a 10 to 15-fold increase in mercury release,3,4 exposing the patient to levels of mercury that are several times the EPA allowable air concentration. Once mercury vapor is released, the lungs absorb it (at a rate of 80%).5 Some mercury release also results from the corrosion of amalgam fillings that occurs when the metal (of which it is composed) comes into contact with saliva in the mouth.

A significant amount of mercury will enter your body, both from inhaled vapor or ingested particles, if you have amalgam fillings. The lining of both the mouth and the nasal cavities absorbs mercury, giving it ready access to the bloodstream. From the nasal passages, mercury travels to the brain.6 Both animal and human studies have found a direct correlation between the level of mercury in the brain and the number of amalgam fillings in the mouth. The result of this build-up of mercury in the brain can be cognitive impairments and/or emotional or behavior problems.

Mercury vapor can even cause learning disabilities, autism and attention deficit disorder in unborn children.7 It has been established that the metal enters the body of the fetus through the placenta. “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, one in six babies born in the U.S. is exposed to enough mercury in the womb to cause an average IQ loss of 1.5 points.”8 After birth, the infant has additional mercury exposure through breast milk if the mother has amalgam fillings.

Because mercury is fat-soluble, and the brain contains 60% fatty tissue, the toxic metal accumulates in the brain.9 It is not surprising, therefore, that mercury has been linked with a number of mental/neurological symptoms, including:

Studies have shown that microorganisms in the mouth convert a portion of the inorganic mercury in dental amalgam to methylmercury, the most acutely neurotoxic form.10

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported the shocking fact that the daily intake of mercury from dental amalgams exceeds our intake of mercury from air, water and food sources combined.11 Even at low levels, however, mercury has been found to be harmful to the human body; in fact, the WHO has found that “There is no safe level of mercury in humans that does not kill cells and harm human body processes.”12

“Florida’s environmental regulatory agency notes that one mercury filling from one tooth thrown into a lake is enough to contaminate that lake for fishing and swimming.”

Jim O’Brien, “Mercury Amalgam Toxicity," Life Extension Magazine, May, 2001

Scientific studies have shown that mercury can damage, not only the brain, but also the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, blood cells, hormones and the immune system.13 Mercury toxicity has also been linked to an array of gastrointestinal disorders, including the serious inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Other disorders with which mercury has been associated include chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity and environmental illness, electrical sensitivity, infertility and birth defects.

Some of the most common signs of mercury toxicity manifest in the oral cavity. These may include:

Bleeding gums A metallic taste in the mouth Excessive salivation Mouth ulcers White patches in the mouth Facial pain Gum disease Black or purple discoloration of the gums

The Dental Amalgam Mercury Syndrome (DAMS), a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on health effect of dental treatment, has evaluated over a thousand peer-reviewed and government studies over the past twenty years. This review has shown that mercury is either the principal cause or a major contributing factor in over 40 chronic health conditions, including low thyroid function, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Lupus, some forms of arthritis, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and cancer.

Boyd Haley, Ph.D., a research toxicologist at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, has proven that mercury vapor is released from dental amalgam fillings in large concentrations, even in fillings more than 20 years old.14 The amount of mercury released in the mouth will depend upon a number of factors: the number of amalgam fillings a person has, the surface area these fillings encompass and how much chewing is routinely done. Some of us start life with a significant body burden of mercury that has been unknowingly passed on to us by our mothers from their own amalgam fillings. The level of mercury found in infants (as measured by hair analysis) has been found to correlate with the number of dental amalgam fillings in the mother.15

In the early 1990’s Dr. Haley was the first to prove that mercury can cause the same pathological changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease. This link between mercury toxicity and Alzheimer’s disease has been confirmed by more recent research conducted at the University of Calgary. Researchers there have posted on their web site (at http://commons.ucalgary.ca/mercury/) a fascinating video presentation graphically depicting how mercury causes brain neuron degeneration. This video shows rapid damage to the nerve cells after introduction of small amounts of mercury, amounts considerably below that found in most people with amalgam fillings.

All in all, there are over 200 symptoms listed in the medical literature for mercury poisoning.16 It should be borne in mind that any of these symptoms may also result from other causes, which should certainly be ruled out in the course of any diagnostic work up. If this diagnostic work up does not include consideration of mercury toxicity, however, the true cause of the problem may be missed.

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1 Chrystle Fiedler, “Mercury Rising,” Essential Cleansing Magazine, Volume 1, p.18.
2 Jim O’Brien, “Mercury Amalgam Toxicity," Life Extension Magazine, May, 2001, p. 47.
3 www.ibdental.net/mercury_owners_guide-to_mercury.htm
4 Op.Cit., Fiedler, p. 21.
5 Ibid.
6 www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2005/feb/26/mercury_lies.htm
7 Op. Cit., O’Brien, p. 44.
8 www.optimumhealthreport.com/articles/mercury.asp
9 www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2005/feb/26/mercury_lies.htm
10 Op. Cit., O’Brien, p. 47.
11 www.ibdental.net/mercury_owners_guide-to_mercury.htm
12 Op. Cit., O’Brien, p. 46.
13 www.ibdental.net/mercury_owners_guide-to_mercury.htm
14 www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2005/feb/26/mercury_lies.htm
15 Ibid.
16 Chrystle Fiedler, “Mercury Rising,” Essential Cleansing Magazine, Volume 1, p.20.

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