Are your dental amalgams making you (and your children) sick?

I can't even tell you the sheer number of people, even that I know alone, experiencing multiple unrelated symptoms that doctors pretty much shrug their shoulders at, or even worse, blindly prescribe antibiotics for!  Antibiotics are way overly misused and in certain people can cause a ticking time bomb to explode.  This increased phenomenon begs the question...do these people have amalgam fillings?

The good news about this horrendous situation is that mercury toxicity IS reversible, if handled properly.  The bad news, if you don't correct this problem, you WILL pass your toxicity onto your innocent children.....and their children!  Can your fillings really cause all this damage, you bet your life they can.

Are Your Dental Fillings Making You Sick?
by Terri L. Saunders

Amazing as it may seem, approximately 80% of the population have inside their mouths the most toxic non-radioactive substance on the planet. This known poison is mercury, and it comprises 50% of all "silver" amalgam fillings that are placed in people’s mouths during routine dental procedures. Even though the American Dental Association claims that mercury has been safely used in dentistry for the last 150 years, and is not harmful when alloyed to silver, copper and zinc in amalgam fillings, research and experience have proven otherwise.

Remember the phrase "mad as a hatter"? In the 1800’s, hatters used mercury-based black paints on the brims of hats. While they worked they would breathe in the mercury fumes and lick the paintbrush to get a finer point. As a result, many hatters got mercury poisoning as the mercury went right to their brains, affecting their psyche. Is it any wonder that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession?

Research conducted as early as a decade ago reported that old fillings viewed under an electron microscope showed holes where the mercury had evaporated, releasing 40% of the mercury into the body over a ten year period. The U.S. environmental protection safety limits for mercury exposure are 10 micrograms per day, yet mercury released from fillings can contribute up to three times this amount, just from the simple acts of chewing, brushing the teeth, or drinking hot liquids. Studies show that the average person makes and swallows 1.5 liters of saliva a day. Yet, if they have as few as four amalgams present in their mouth, their saliva is so high in mercury they cannot legally spit into the toilet in the USA. In fact, amalgam that has been drilled out of teeth must be collected by a special toxic waste disposal company in three airtight metal containers locked one inside the other and labeled with a skull and crossbones. Yet this material is considered safe when placed in our mouths?

According to scientists Sharma and Obersteiner at Utah State University, mercury is even more toxic than aluminum, lead, cadmium or arsenic. They state that mercury is "a strong protoplasmic poison that penetrates all living cells of the human body. Mercury is a powerful biological poison with no necessary biological function." The harmful effects of mercury on the body are almost too numerous to count. In many cases it can take up to twenty-five years for disease symptoms from mercury poisoning to manifest.

Surface particles of elemental mercury from amalgams are acted upon by oral and intestinal bacteria to produce methyl mercury, an even more toxic form of mercury that targets the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, and the brain. Mercury rapidly absorbs across the blood-brain barrier and interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses to the rest of the body, causing tremors, shaking, tingling and numbness. Related effects on the nervous system are poor memory, inability to focus, anxiety, depression, irritability, nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, and muscle spasms.

Multiple Sclerosis patients have been found to have eight times higher levels of mercury in their cerebrospinal fluid compared to neurologically healthy individuals. Researchers at the University of Kentucky have now concluded that mercury from amalgams is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. They are also investigating the theory that Parkinson’s Disease and Lou Gehrig’s Disease are related to heavy metal toxicity. 

Mercury has an adverse effect on the immune system, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight infection. In the Coors Foundation study of 1995, conducted by pioneering mercury-free dentist Dr. Hal Huggins, the blood of 28 patients was tested before and after amalgam removals. Dr. Huggins found that high levels of white blood cells (the marker for a challenged immune system) came down after amalgam removal, while depressed levels came up. In his article in Alternative Medicine, Dr. Huggins recalls the case of an eight year old boy who was diagnosed with Leukemia due to an extremely high white blood cell count three days after receiving two mercury amalgam fillings. When chemotherapy was given and his white count declined to dangerously low levels, the boy’s grandmother took him to Dr. Huggins who removed the fillings, and his white blood cell count immediately returned to normal levels.
Mercury in the body inhibits the repair of DNA and alters the ability of cells to selectively allow materials through their membranes. It changes healthy molecules into nonfunctioning chemicals and alters the activities of enzymes necessary for all biological functions. Mercury can displace and deactivate vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and chromium. It interferes with the hormonal secretions of the endocrine system. Of particular concern is mercury’s lethal affect on the friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, preventing absorption of nutrients. Mercury signals antagonistic bacteria to mutate for self-preservation, creating new strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Other symptoms related to mercury poisoning are allergies, bloating, high or low blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, fatigue, muscle weakness, back pain, colitis, headaches, ringing in the ears, metallic taste in the mouth or smell on the skin, skin disorders, canker sores, and problems with the heart, thyroid, reproductive system, urinary tract and vision. Autoimmune disorders such as Lupus and Fibromyalgia as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have all been linked to mercury poisoning from dental fillings.

Since amalgams are a combination of different metals, they act like a battery inside the electrolyte and acid solution of the oral cavity, causing corrosion of the metals and creating electrical charges that negatively affect the brain and nervous system. Some people with amalgam fillings have even reported hearing local radio stations inside their mouths! This principle also holds true for gold fillings and crowns which are actually composites of several metals because gold alone would be too soft. Even porcelain dental material contains aluminum oxide and other metals. Metal-free dental materials are best.

In Dentistry Without Mercury authors Sam Ziff and Michael Ziff, DDS, note that the vast majority of people who have had their mercury amalgams replaced by non-metallic composite fillings have experienced improvements in their health. They cite studies that show 63% to 97% cure or improvement in all of the conditions mentioned above after amalgam removal.
Due to the overwhelming evidence regarding mercury poisoning from dental fillings, Sweden and some European countries have now officially banned amalgam fillings and are no longer teaching amalgam placement in dental schools. Other countries are quietly eliminating the practice without admitting liability. In Canada the issue has escalated into a class action lawsuit representing millions of Canadians who claim that they were not warned of the potential health risks of their mercury fillings.
In the United States, the American Dental Association (ADA) still stands by its story that mercury amalgams are safe. In fact, if a dentist in this country recommends that a patient remove his/her amalgam fillings in order to remove toxic substances from the body, that dentist is guilty of a breach of ethics and can lose his/her license to practice dentistry. This is actually what happened to Dr. Hal Huggins who wrote one of the most informative books on the subject, Uninformed Consent. Yet the ADA publicly absolves themselves of any liability in cases of dental mercury poisoning, letting the dentists fend for themselves. Recently on an Internet amalgam forum, it was reported that the ADA owns two patents on amalgams. According to this source, the amalgam manufacturing companies pay the ADA to put their seal of approval on their products.

If you choose to have your mercury amalgam fillings replaced by less toxic white composite fillings, it is important to go to a dentist that is familiar with safe removal procedures. For example, my dentist and his assistant wore gas masks during the procedure, while I was breathing pure oxygen. A negative ion generator and air purifier were in the room with a ventilation tube suspended above me pulling mercury vapors away as they worked. Though the impulse may be to have all of your fillings replaced at one time, if you have several fillings it is much easier on the body to replace one quadrant at a time over a period of a few months.

Once the fillings are removed, the next step is to detox the mercury that has been inside your body perhaps for many years. (Note by Jessica - you can see my many blog entries about safe chelation/detox here.)

Terri L. Saunders is an Herbalist and Certified Natural Health Professional in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she does private consultations, telephone consultations, and classes on natural healing. She can be reached at Sunrise Herb Shoppe, a unique holistic resource center for cutting edge natural health products and books. For information call 1-434-984-2665, or visit our web site at www.sunherb.com , or e-mail at sunherb@sunherb.com .

Watch this 15 year old's experience with mercury fillings and how his health was rapidly damaged after the placement of just TWO amalgams.

KJ's Story


Mercury Sources
So besides mercury fillings and fish, what other sources of mercury are there? The Rodale Institute has identified the top five mercury sources for us.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Warnings about mercury in fish and seafood have gotten plenty of attention in recent years. But where does all that mercury come from in the first place? Apparently, the largest sources of mercury emissions into our air and water are going all but unnoticed. A new study published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring has found that mercury in the atmosphere is an oft-ignored form of air pollution, especially in urban areas where concentrations can reach dangerously high levels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been lax in its enforcement of mercury-pollution standards over the past decade, exempting major polluters. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can harm the developing brains of children and infants; in adults, exposure can lead to memory loss and affect fertility and blood pressure.

Here are the biggest emitters of mercury into the environment:

1. Coal-fired power plants. Mercury exists naturally in coal, making coal-fired power plants the largest source of mercury pollution in this country. Coal accounts for nearly 50 percent of the electricity generated in this country—and almost 50 tons of mercury emissions annually.
What you can do: Contact your electricity provider to see if buying green power is an alternative in your area. If it is, opt to get your energy from a less polluting source, such as wind, solar, or hydroelectric power.

2. Cement kilns. According to the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, all the cement kilns in the U.S. combined pump out roughly 23,000 pounds of mercury every year. The mercury comes from coal, which is used to fuel the cement-manufacturing process, as well as limestone, another natural source of the heavy metal. The group released a report last July finding that, individually, some cement kilns emit nearly one and a half times more mercury than the most polluting coal-fired power plants. But because there are fewer kilns, they account for lower levels of atmospheric mercury overall than coal plants.
What you can do: Cleaning up this industrial process will take more political power than individual action, but you can lobby your local officials to put pressure on nearby cement kilns to clean up their acts. See if you live near a cement production facility by searching Earthjustice’s interactive map. If you do, support local environmental groups working for stricter mercury controls. You can also buy a water filter that’s certified to remove mercury from your drinking water, which will cut down on some of your exposure.

3. Chlor-alkali plants. Chlorine bleach, laundry detergent, cheap vinyl purses, shoes, and toys made with polyvinyl chloride (or PVC)—making all these products required the use of chlorine gas at some point. The chlor-alkali plants that produce it use mercury to convert salt to chlorine gas, and to convert salt to caustic soda, or lye, which is then used in products like detergent, plastics, and bleach. The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says that while most modern chlor-alkali plants have switched to mercury-free technology, there are still seven plants in the U.S. that use it, and each one has roughly 200 tons of mercury on site at any given time. An unknown amount of that mercury gets lost during manufacturing, whether to the air or surrounding waterways; a 2006 report from NRDC found that operators at four of these plants could account for only 29 of the 159 tons of the mercury they used from 2000 to 2004. (As Rodale.com reported earlier this year, some of those plants also make the ubiquitous food ingredient high-fructose corn syrup, and may be tainting food products with mercury.)
What you can do: Avoid chlorine-containing products like chlorine bleach, as well as anything made from polyvinyl chloride, including cheap handbags and shower curtains. Also look for chlorine-free paper products; paper production is the sixth largest mercury emitter in this country. Buy unbleached paper towels, coffee filters, and office paper. For the latter, look for the “Totally Chlorine Free” or “Processed Chlorine Free” labels on the package.

4. Trash incinerators. Hazardous waste, medical waste, and regular garbage incinerators release 13.1 tons (or about 26,000 pounds) of mercury every year, according to statistics from the EPA. The mercury comes from common household items, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and thermostats, and from automobile scrap. Despite common perceptions that mercury is used in thermometers and blood pressure machines, the medical industry has switched to mercury-free versions of those tools, and medical waste now accounts for the smallest percentage of mercury emissions from incinerators.
What you can do: Visit Environment, Health and Safety Online to see if an incinerator is located near you. Support local efforts to implement stricter mercury controls, and filter your water.

5. Gold mining. According to those same EPA statistics, 11.5 tons of mercury each year are released from gold mining, often called the most polluting industry in the world. Historically, mercury was used to separate gold from mined ore, but in Nevada, which accounts for 80 percent of the gold mined in the U.S., the ore itself contains mercury. The mercury is released when gold is heated to separate the two. The nonprofit group Earthworks estimates that gold mines account for nearly 25 percent of the mercury emissions west of Texas, and it’s not just the existing mines that pose problems. Mercury can seep out of long-abandoned gold mines, most of which are in California, which continue to release mercury from underground pools of mine tailings, despite the fact that they’ve been closed since the end of the 19th century. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that mine waters and sediments in these areas today release hundreds to thousands of pounds of mercury every year.
What you can do: Some major retailers, such as Tiffany & Co., have pledged to use only responsibly mined gold, free of mercury and other pollutants like cyanide. But the greenest, and cheapest, thing to do is opt for antique or estate jewelry when you’re shopping for bling.

Have we evolved too much?

Is there such a thing as too much evlolution for a species?  I think we had it right at one point, we were cleaning up our water and food, and this increased our life expectancies.  Disease was already on the decline, but we had to take it all a step further.  Or was that too many steps?

My husband saw an article recently suggesting that this will be the first year in a long time that a generation's life expectancies are shorter than our parent's!

I am going to go out on a limb and just for the sake of experimenting with this theory, let's think completely out of the box and use body odor as an example.  We all know that we excrete toxins through our skin, creating body odor, but what is the possibility that this was a form of communication at one time?  I mean, we already know that dogs can sense fear pheromones in humans, right?  Everything our body does has a purpose, some perhaps that we don't even know since we can't even consider everything we could be testing for.

Could our instincts and genetics have had more control in our destiny than we can even fathom with our brainwashed ideas?  Have you ever noticed that one person's body odor might be offensive to you, while another person's was almost appealing?  Why is that?  Stop and think about it without inhibition and think of the raw potential purpose for this.  Could our instincts have driven us to be attracted to those who are genetically in tune with each other?  We have so many "genetic" mutations occurring and yes, I do think the environment is very much involved, but we have to have these predisposed "genetics" to begin with and where did they get out of control?  What if deodorant squelched our opportunity at using a sense that had more sense than our conscious mind?  Could this one little itty bitty change in our lives have made a huge impact on our ability to know who our perfect matches might be?  and to go as far as to say even genetically so?  Ok, so you get my point, I am not suggesting we go back to cave-man days and start sniffing each other out, but we SHOULD be putting more thought into our own actions, because everything we do will effect the next seven generations, or more. Somewhere along the way, we got it wrong.  We are shorting ourselves somewhere.  Our greed has taken over, we are creating toxins and chemicals faster than we can even test for them, what does that tell you?  Our waters are polluted, our rain is tainted with heavy metals, our homes are made with toxic materials and our children are being born with more than 200 of these toxins already in their blood....evolution?  What do you think?

 Sure, all these new inventions often provide us with more comfort and convenience, but at what price?

What now? Mercury!!

I mentioned how we had a hair elements test done on Grayson to determine, if we are dealing with a heavy metal toxicity. The results are very confusing to decipher, because it's not clear cut. Mercury "hides" out in tissues, organs and the brain so tests are often inconclusive of ACTUAL mercury unless the test is done shortly after your encounter with this nasty stuff! So what that means is the hair elements test tells us what is going on with the mineral transport in his body. If he is normal and shows high metals then it IS pretty cut and dry, the metal being noted is high. When the minerals are derranged, skewed....it is indicitive of past mercury poisoning which never left the body. Mercury pushes the elements all around and into the hair in varrying degrees. So the jist of his report shows high metals - copper, nickel, antimony, cobalt and zirconium, chances are these ARE actually high and need to be reduced. His low elements are - calcium, sodium, andadium, molybdenum, boron, strontium, and rubidium. The result? Probably that he cannot metabolize mercury and is holding it all in his little bitty body! Mercury is the most toxic substance on this planet and it is coursing through his veins, the very veins that feed his brain! No wonder things aren't checking out completely with his health!!

I have to say that I am somewhat relieved that we found mercury to be the problem and I must say that I expected it. Why would I be relieved that our son has mercury poisoning?? Well, because it also means there is a way to cure him. It means that the food allergies, the never ending yeast problems, the SPD, the behaviors....they all have a reason and a cure!! If it was just genetic, then there wouldn't be much we could do for him other than possibly medicate for symptoms like ADHD and OCD down the road. Instead, we are going to remove the metals, be it no easy feat, and we are going to put our son back on the track to healthy and normal, if there is such a thing, ha ha.

Chelation (key-lay-shun) is the method of removal. It can be a very long (like years) process and it involves plenty of supplements (yes MORE than he is already on, like SEVEN more) dosed 4 times a day and a metal removing agent dosed every 3 hours day and NIGHT! GULP!! The good news, if there is any during this process, is that we chelate for about 3 days on and at least that many or more off, so we do get a break....but, we repeat that process until he shows no additional benefit to the protocol. Like I mentioned earlier, that can be years. Only time will tell, there is no way to even guess so I will avoid having any expectations other than to work hard at getting him healthy.

Since he has high copper (copper is synergistic with mercury) and one of the chelating agents (ALA) drives copper higher during chelation, we need to focus on bringing that down a bit first. To do that, we will need to give him: taurine, milk thistle, molybdenum, zinc and possibly glycine four times a day. He needs to avoid high copper foods like shellfish, nuts and avocado...more foods to avoid, the list is getting longer. Then we will begin the process of chelation with DMSA and possibly ALA, if there are no reactions to either, and we will add in additional supplements: vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, and mixed carotenoids all spread out about 4 doses daily since chelation can diminish antioxidants.

Soooo, wish us luck! Once we begin, I will keep you all posted. And who knew that when I began this blog that I would truly have something to post progress on besides just the diet. I am thrilled to have gotten to the bottom of it all, but weary of the process we plan to embark on. Mobilizing mercury into the blood stream is risky, but it's necessary.