Dental mercury - the curse of amalgam fillings

Amalgam dental fillings, which are 50% mercury, release mercury vapour continuously (J Dent Res 1985; 64(B): 1069-1071). This is absorbed into the body and accumulates in the jaw area, gastro-intestinal tract, kidneys, liver and other organs, with the potential to cause negative reactions, especially in the 3% of the population who are estimated to be hypersensitive to mercury.

Reactions to the mercury in fillings, which may appear up to five years after fillings are placed, can include allergies, IBS, chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, irritability, a metallic taste in the mouth, tremor in the hands, depression, headaches and early deterioration in vision.

Even those people who have no amalgam fillings in their own mouths can still be exposed to the mercury removed from the mouths of others. Research from the University of Illinois has shown that mercury from dental surgeries can enter drain water, where it becomes methylated by sulfate- reducing bacteria to create an extremely potent, ingestible neurotoxin.

Once in waterways, methyl mercury tends to be biomagnified up the food chain, moving from algae and phytoplankton to fish and, ultimately, to humans.
More at http://tinyurl.com/5ek9mk

Whether it is in the form of mercury vapour from dental fillings, or methyl mercury from food, once it has entered the body, mercury quickly relocates from the bloodstream to intracellular tissue, mostly in the brain and kidneys.

The safe removal of mercury

A breakthrough US study, which has again confirmed the link between an accumulation of mercury and multiple medical conditions, has also shown that modified citrus pectin (MCP) combined with alginates (derived from kelp seaweed) is effective in removing this metal, as well as lead.
The study, which details five individual cases (outlined at http://tinyurl.com/62a82u), confirms that the MCP/alginate formulation is both safe and effective in significantly addressing the toxic heavy metal burden in patients with a number of different health conditions.
The toxic metals are removed without affecting the body's essential minerals, and without side effects or risk of toxin re-absorption and redistribution in the body. The modified citrus pectin/alginate combination used in the study was PectaSol Chelation Complex, which is available direct from EcoNugenics, Inc, California at
www.econugenics.com/products/

Mercury-free dentists

Exposure to mercury vapour from amalgam fillings can only be avoided by removal of the offending fillings. For a list of dental practitioners who can carry out this procedure safely, and replace the amalgams with safe alternatives – http://tinyurl.com/56xnny
Further information is also available from the British Society for Mercury Free Dentistry, The Weathervane, 22A Moorend Park Road, Cheltenham, GL530JY – help line: 01242 226 918 – email: info@mercury-free.co.uk
www.mercuryfreedentistry.org.uk
For an annotated list of research and comment on the mercury amalgam issue in general, see http://tinyurl.com/6kyksf

The politics

With effect from 1 January, 2008, Norway has banned the use of mercury, including its use in amalgam dental fillings. Recognising that amalgam is no longer needed due to the availability of viable non-mercury filling substitutes, Sweden and Denmark have also announced similar bans to take effect from 1 April 2008.
More at http://tinyurl.com/657tkn

However, there can be no expectation that similar action will be taken anytime soon in Britain. UK (and US) dentists are still fighting a frantic rear-guard action in a vain attempt to stem the tide of opinion and scientific research against mercury amalgam fillings, which they and government departments continue to insist are both safe and necessary. (These are the same authorities that are still calling for the universal addition of the toxin, fluoride, to our public water supplies.)

Click here for a good list of UK dentists who do not use mercury at all and can remove amalgam fillings safely.

More research on heavy metals

First Published in September 2008

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