The level of mercury vapor and mercury contaminated particles released while removing a mercury dental filling vastly exceed established safety limits and if tested would require that everyone be evacuated.
“Silver fillings” or “Amalgam fillings” contain 45-50% liquid mercury with the remainder being a combination of silver, tin, copper and zinc. “Silver fillings” is false labeling. “Amalgam filling” is misleading because it hides the fact that the main component is liquid mercury. I prefer to call them mercury fillings.
Mercury is a cumulative toxin and the most toxic non-radioactive element in the periodic table. It is both a neurotoxin and a nephrotoxin. Neurotoxins inhibit, damage and or destroy the tissues of the nervous system. Nephrotoxins inhibit, damage and or destroy the cells and tissues of the kidneys.
Each person has a different threshold of tolerance for mercury. One person’s body will show the signs of serious illness at lower body burdens than will another. Symptoms and conditions of mercury toxicity are not immediate, but they affect mental, emotional and physical health. The quote below is on page 13 of the March 1999 Mercury toxicology report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, also known by its acronym, the ATSDR.
“Metallic mercury vapors or organic mercury may affect many different areas of the brain and their associated functions, resulting in a variety of symptoms. These include personality changes (irritability, shyness, nervousness), tremors, changes in vision (constriction (or narrowing) of the visual field), deafness, muscle incoordination, loss of sensation, and difficulties with memory.
Different forms of mercury have different effects on the nervous system, because they do not all move through the body in the same way. When metallic mercury vapors are inhaled, they readily enter the bloodstream and are carried throughout the body and can move into the brain. Breathing in or swallowing large amounts of methylmercury also results in some of the mercury moving into the brain and affecting the nervous system. Inorganic mercury salts, such as mercuric chloride, do not enter the brain as readily as methylmercury or metallic mercury vapor.
The kidneys are also sensitive to the effects of mercury, because mercury accumulates in the kidneys and causes higher exposures to these tissues, and thus more damage. All forms of mercury can cause kidney damage if large enough amounts enter the body. If the damage caused by the mercury is not too great, the kidneys are likely to recover once the body clears itself of the contamination.”
On page 6-7 of the same report it states the mercury vapor exposure from mercury fillings may range from 3-17mcg per day. Safe daily exposure levels are set at 3.5mcg. In other words, even if you are at the lowest range of daily exposure from your mercury fillings, you already have exceeded the level of mercury exposure considered safe for one day.
Your mercury fillings are a source of unnecessary mercury exposure and possibly your biggest source of exposure. It directly influences your emotional, mental and physical health. BUT before you panic and run to the dentist to have yours removed, you need to consider a few things.
Faster, quicker and cheaper is a great strategy for your car’s smog check and oil change, but it is not the best strategy for removing your mercury fillings. Mercury related health problems are extremely complex and sensitive to any and all additional toxic exposures. You need a personally appropriate action plan to ensure steady progressive health recovery without setbacks that cause further damage.
I did run to the dentist based on professional prodding to have my remaining fillings removed immediately. It was NOT a good idea for me to do that. I believe the unnecessary exposure caused additional damage. Had I lowered my mercury levels, stabilized my health conditions and chosen a more appropriate dentist I think my healing would have been much faster and far easier.
At the time I only had two mercury fillings left to be removed, neither was broken nor leaking and they had been in my mouth for more than 20 years. I originally had 4 mercury fillings. The first mercury filling removal came about while eating a bowl of cereal, and it wasn’t Grape Nuts. That was probably the cleanest, quickest, safest and cheapest mercury filling removal I had. The molar broke off in two huge pieces that I simply removed from my mouth. Cost: a bowl of cereal. Odds of duplicating that lucky occurrence: Zero. The second mercury filling came out on the spot when a dentist noticed it was cracked and leaking.
Back in 2006 when it was first discovered I had metal toxicity, the lab tests indicated I had 3x max levels of mercury in my blood. More than 8x max levels in my urine when tested with IV Sodium EDTA and 500mg of oral DMSA. And more than 22x max levels in my urine when tested with IV DMPS. The huge amounts of mercury in my body were more than likely the result of intense mercury exposures from a huge dietary increase of fish, a trip to a foreign country for several weeks and the dust and vapors from home and furniture renovations.
I went to the dentist recommended to me by the doctor who was treating my mercury toxicity with IV chelation. I trusted it was the safest dentist to do the dangerous work, but it wasn’t. The dentist I should have gone to needed to be a zero mercury exposure tolerance dentist wearing a hazmat suit and full face filtration system.
It would have been better for me to have my head in a plastic bag with an air supply tube, like in this photo with everything sealed off so I couldn’t swallow or breathe in any of the dust or vapors from the drilling process.
My body was too unstable to undergo something so risky for two mercury fillings. Additionally I didn’t know what my body needed me to do to help it recover, nor what chelation method was best for me or how to help my body recover from medical setbacks. My first course of action should have been to stabilize and improve body function while lowering total mercury body burden. There wasn’t a lot of good information at the time, just a lot of one size fits all protocols. It was also difficult because metal toxicity was very much considered a lot of quackery and a big hoax. In fact, most of the population still thinks that.
Below are the questions I needed to be asking myself. Even though your situation is entirely different from mine, these questions will help you look at the important elements that you need to consider to ensure a most successful outcome.
♥ Have you eliminated any and all of your other mercury exposures (the ones you have control of)?
Your mercury exposures include far more than just the mercury fillings in your mouth and you need to be aware of them. Common mercury exposures include: Fish and seafood. Herbal remedies from Latin America, India and Asia. Rituals and spiritual practices such as Santeria and Spiritismo common in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fungicides, herbicides and insecticides (you may not be using them but are you buying products that have?). Pharmaceutical or over-the-counter products such as eye and ear drops which may contain mercury based preservatives such as Thimerasol and Phenylmercuric Nitrate. Vaccines. Medical equipment. Older or foreign remedies used as laxatives, teething powder, diuretics, antiseptics, disinfectants, worming medications and anti-bacterials. Electrical switches and wiring. Batteries. Certain red coloring agents used for tattoo ink. Color pigments, inks, adhesives and caulking used in many various products. Gold mine extraction. Used to preserve wood. Is a catalyst for urethane foam and vinyl chloride. Fluorescent and energy saving lightbulbs which are safe unless they break. Surfaces exposed to mercury vapors are almost impossible to make safe once there has been exposure (carpet, rugs, textiles, vacuums and more). Indoor and outdoor paint up until 1991 contained mercury to prevent mold growth. Most home and building renovations are considered high toxic exposure areas.
♥ What is the current mercury burden in your body? This should be determined with a proper Chelation Challenge Urine collection.
♥ Do you believe the cause of your faltering health is related to the mercury toxicity in your body? Have you considered all the possible sources of mercury exposures with a fine tooth comb and with the eye of a detective?
♥ Which chelation treatment (medical IV’s, prescriptions, methyl donor supplementation or a combination) is most effective for your body with the least amount of side effects?
♥ Are you chelating weekly? How long have you been chelating? Is your health improving as a result? Some people notice a slow progressive improvement as each month passes. For others the improvement only comes much later after the mercury has been removed and the body makes all the adjustments needed to re-establish harmony.
♥ Are you taking binding agents to carry out stray heavy metal particles from your GI tract? Some examples of binding agents are activated charcoal, citrus pectin supplements, malic acid, psyllium, flax, chia seed or bile binding prescriptions.
♥ Are you strengthening your weak or faltering body functions?
♥ Are the strong organs in your body being supported to keep them strong?
♥ How many fillings do you have in your mouth? Are any damaged? How long have you had them?
♥ How is your body working at present and could your body tolerate a possible set-back and recover from it?
♥ Do you know what your body needs you to do to help it recover from a setback?
Your personally known secrets may include: Epsom salts baths, castor oil packs, aromatherapy, herbals, homeopathics, dry brushing, stretching, lymphatic drainage, specific foods, supplements, magnet therapy, oxygenation therapy, infrared sauna, ozone, hydro colon therapy, organic coffee retention enemas or something else.
♥ Have you found a dentist?
How did you make the decision or is something else making the decision for you such as dental insurance, your doctor, a loved one or is it the price? Understand how and what is making your decisions, there may be a better option. Spend the time to research, read and make calls. You want to understand the procedures used and how exposures are minimized. How many mercury fillings do they remove at a time? How many do you have? Take your time to make the right decision. While you may not have any problems from the procedure, having your mercury fillings removed is like betting the farm on a craps table. You don’t give your house or car keys to people you have just met, be very careful who you are giving your body, health, well-being and future to.
You are the only person who can decide what is best for you, but it is important to understand how and why you are making your decisions. There may be something faulty about your decision making process. Good decisions favor greater health recovery success in shorter time frames.
When you do decide to have your fillings removed, I strongly suggest increasing adjunct treatments several days before. Make sure heavy metal binders are moving through your intestinal tract, be prepared to take oral chelators or have an IV chelation appointment set-up following the procedure.
Pay careful attention to the appointment days you choose. If you know your body is more tired or has more problems during the new or full moon, then don’t make the appointment during a full or new moon. Different people are sensitive to different variable that include seasons, weather, humidity, barometric pressure, wind, solar activity, lunar phases and hormonal cycles. Make appointments at times when you know your body is strongest. It is important to structure everything to minimize risks and offer your body the best chance for successful outcomes. Some people may need to schedule several dental appointments before all of the mercury fillings can be removed. I suggest only making one appointment at a time and wait to see how your body recovers from the each procedure before having the next.
While media has information they rarely ever present information in a big picture objective fashion. They often expose the miracle testimonials that are the pure exception rather than the norm. Look for the opposing view in order to see the whole story instead of the side that media wishes for you to support.
I can’t say this enough. Do research and get information. Then step away to look at it objectively with your own body knowledge and history in mind. Be sure to talk to and question those individuals who experienced the problems. They hold far more information than anyone else is telling you. People who have had the problems are often more than happy to share what they learned to help another person avoid the same plight.
Trust and follow the guidance of your body, and what you know to be true about it. You are the expert of your body because you live in it 24/7. Your choices don’t need to be justified logically. Sometimes the right direction feels right and there is no logical explanation. Those invisible hunches hold infinite wisdom and need to be honored.
Happy Holidays,
Krista Umgelter
Resources:
The direct link for the ATSDR Mercury Toxicology report is:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=115&tid=24
Many people have found the book AMALGAM ILLNESS by Andrew Hall Cutler very helpful. I found it to be a tough read because I am not science nor chemistry minded, but it had a lot of valuable information.