Do You Have Toxic Teeth?

So today I want to talk about those nasty looking black fillings, or mercury amalgam fillings.

I can guarantee that many of you reading this today have 1 or probably more mercury fillings in your mouth, if you do then you really want to be reading this.

Before going onto fillings and the controversy surrounding them, I just want to talk about the substance Mercury.

History of Mercury

Mercury was used as ointment by 10th century Arabian physicians, it then made its way to Europe by the 13th century and was widely used by the year 1600.

Mercury was used in teeth as early as the 7th century, the Chinese used a “silver paste” containing mercury (Hg) to fill decayed teeth.

By the early 1800′s, the use of a Hg/silver paste as a tooth filling material was being popularized in England and France and it was eventually introduced into North America in the 1830s.What is dental amalgam?

For those of you that don’t know dental amalgam is a filling material used by dentists designed to fill the cavities caused by tooth decay. Dentists have been using this for more than 150 years on millions of patients.

12 million mercury filling are inserted in the UK each year up to this day.

The amalgam is a mixture of metals including liquid mercury along with a powdered alloy made up of tin, silver and copper. They are known as silver fillings due to their silver like colour (more like black to me). A silver filling is made up of around 50% mercury.

Controversy

Professionals have different views about the dangers of mercury fillings. Some think they are safe others do not.

Not all dentists will agree with some of the points in this article, and I will try to give both sides of the argument.

I was told by my dentist (old) that mercury was fine and only caused problems in some people. I was also told, mercury was inert when mixed with other metals (both of which are suspect, I now know).

The British Dental Association have said “Approximately five per cent of the population would react to contact with mercury, as they do to all heavy metals.”

The Government’s Committee on Toxicology [which advises the Department of Health, which in turn advises the BDA] has not found mercury amalgam to be “unsafe”.

In the United States, official studies hired by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated that “the current data is insufficient to support an association between mercury release from amalgams and the various complaints that have been attributed to this restorative material.”

Mercury is the second most toxic substance on the planet (behind plutonium) and this is something we are putting in our mouth!

Based on that FACT alone, surely it can’t be healthy!

The transport and movement of the “hazardous” mercury amalgam substance is heavily controlled and can only be carried out by trained people using the right equipment.

An interesting side point, if a thermometer containing mercury breaks, the clean up and removal, again is regulated by strict policies and procedures.

An individual with around 8 fillings has about 4g of mercury in their teeth. A thermometer contains only 3g.

So How Did Such a Dangerous Substance find its Way Into Our Mouths?

There are two reasons really:

Robust Material. Dental amalgam fillings are strong and they last a long time. They are less likely to break than other substances.Cost. It is the cheapest filling material

No surprises there!

I myself have had 13 mercury fillings, causing me without doubt to have major mercury toxicity(I have now had them professionally removed). The first ones were put in when I was a teenager and looking back had a massive effect on my mental and physical health during my late teenage years and my twenties.

Since having them removed I feel so much better and my overall health shows it, more energy, stronger, fitter and generally less illness.

What Problems Do Mercury Fillings Cause?

Early dentist practitioners expressed their concerns over amalgam expanding after setting which causes cracks, fractures and prevents the jaw from closing properly.

Mercury amalgam is a paste and NOT a solid substance, it moves around and bits come off.

Other practitioners were concerned about mercury’s links to dementia and loss of motor coordination.

?Did you know? Hat makers who used mercury (lots) were found to suffer mental health problems as a result. This is where the term ‘As mad as a hatter’ came from!

The concentration of mercury in the brain is directly related to the number, size and age of amalgam fillings in the mouth.

Dr Mercola called mercury fillings ‘Biochemical Trainwreck’.

One of the most dangerous aspects of having mercury fillings is the fact that mercury vapour is more or less constantly released from the fillings into our body.

Mercury vapour is released from fillings in your mouth via:

Evaporation
ChewingCorrosion
Drinking hot drinks

You can eat all the good ORGANIC food you want but if you are chewing them with mercury fillings then the food will not be so good.

Mercury is released for decades after the filling is placed in the mouth every single time we eat, drink a hot drink or brush our teeth.

Mercury travels around the body and disrupts the entire system. Your immune system is damaged, cell membranes are damaged and inflammation is caused. Your Blood, Brain, Kidneys and Thyroid are all damaged by the mercury too.

Mercury interferes with the production of heme iron found in blood. Heme carries oxygen.

When damaged by mercury the heme is excreted out of the body as a waste product.

This causes a loss of haemoglobin as well as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s stored energy, and is the largest contributing factor to reduction of energy for the body’s metabolic events.

The fillings are neurotoxic, mercury travels from the fillings upwards all through the nerves destroying protein and anything in its way on the way to the brain.

It has a toxic effect on nervous tissue and brain tissue.

Some Facts:

The hearts of people dying from heart related disorders have been shown to have 22,000 times higher concentrations of mercury.

The kidneys retain more mercury than any other organ.

The toxic effects of mercury are further enhanced when mercury is in combination with other metals such as zinc and lead.

Your Thyroid

Your Thyroid is vital to your hormone balance and metabolism.

It stores and produces hormones that affect the function of virtually every organ in our bodies.

Thyroid hormone (T3) regulates our metabolic rate.

Mercury is a toxic metal with significant effects on the thyroid.

There is lots of evidence (and here) that mercury leaches from dental amalgam fillings and contributes to thyroid disease and anaemia.

Top nutritionist Phil Richards, taught me this “Mercury from dental fillings can migrate to the thyroid gland, and can sit on one or more of the thyroid’s four iodine receptors, blocking iodine from reaching the receptors, thereby preventing full activation of the thyroid.”

Mercury suppresses thyroid function by poisoning the enzyme (thyroid peroxidase) required to produce the active form of the thyroid hormone (t3) from the inactive (t4).

Sometimes people have thyroid disorders and take thyroxine (T4) and it doesn’t work. This poisoning of the enzyme is why, because their bodies are then unable to convert T4 to T3 effectively. Leading to problems.

“Thyroid hormones are one of the major “players” in brain chemistry disorders. And as with any brain chemical disorder, until treated correctly, thyroid hormone imbalance has serious effects on the patient’s emotions and behavior .” (Phil Richards)

Solution – Ongoing Protection

As an immediate measure, if you have mercury fillings, you should step in and give your “poor worn out thyroid” some help.

Selenium is a potent chelator of mercury (it binds to it and removes it from the body). Because the body uses lots of selenium to get rid off the mercury, mercury exposure can therefore lead to a deficiency.

Iodine intake also increase the excretion of mercury from the thyroid.

There is a great product which you should take if you have any mercury fillings, containing selenium, kelp(containing iodine) and thyrosine (a Thyroxine pre cursor), called Iodine Forte. Research shows this will help you thyroid to function better.

Banned

I read this and thought it was interesting…(Mercury Fillings: A Time Bomb In Your Head by Charles W. Moore)

“Sweden banned mercury amalgam dental fillings in 1997, after determining that at least 250,000 Swedes have immune and other health disorders directly related to the mercury in their teeth.

Denmark ban amalgams in 1999.

In 1991, Germany’s Health Ministry recommended to the German Dental Association that no further amalgam fillings be placed in children, pregnant women, or people with kidney disease, and in 1993 this was extended to include all women of child-bearing age, pregnant or not.

By contrast, the American Dental Association (ADA) says replacing amalgam fillings from non-allergic patients for the purpose of removing toxic substances from the body is “improper and unethical.” The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) insists that there is no scientific evidence linking medical illness symptoms to mercury fillings, except relatively rare allergic sensitivity to mercury.

(The number of persons with a specific and detectable sensitivity to mercury may not be so small. According to a Health Canada report, as many as 15 percent of people with amalgam fillings show signs of sensitivity to mercury. Some American researchers claim that at least 20 percent of people with amalgam fillings are “mercury toxic.”)

What gives? Are the Europeans and Scandinavians hysterical Cassandras, in a sweat about nothing, or are the North American dental associations concerned about things other than patient health? Are mercury amalgam tooth fillings dangerous or not? “

Mercury has been banned in other countries. What do they know that we don’t?

More recently some African countries have also banned its use.

In the UK, the government says mercury is not a health risk.

(Recently my nephew went in the his NHS dentist and was told he wasn’t allowed a white filling and was forced to have a mercury one put in (you can only have white if its a tooth visibly on show!). He is now being booked in to have it removed and knows never to have another one.

Not so long ago the UN had a meeting about banning it worldwide.

Other problems KNOWN to be associated with mercury fillings:

Mercury increases free radicals in the body which wreak havoc in the body.
Causes Impaired immune function.
Free radicals are calmed down by anti oxidants, mercury inactivates anti oxidant function.
People have less energy; mercury wipes out mitochondria which causes energy.
Cells, fatty acids and cell membranes are destroyed or harmed.
We are a community of a hundred trillion cells put together, mercury destroys cells, which means it literally destroys us.

There is No Safe Amount of Mercury.

The British dental association have their rules and regulations which at the moment promote the use of mercury. Similar to what I have said about some doctors speaking out against what they are being told to say, a dentist saying no to mercury would run the risk of losing their job.

The symptoms caused by mercury are not easily recognisable so all of the problems are missed or mis-diagnosed. They are said to be SUBCLINICAL, which is below the detectable/recognised level.

Scientific views on the health hazards of mercury may differ, but people are taking matters into their own hands.

Is there an answer? Yes, mercury removal.

Why Remove ?

To Summarise…

Immune system damage
Vascular system damage
Birth Defects
Anti-oxidant problems
Kidney problems
Neurological problems

How?

This is not a simple process that you can do overnight it takes preparation, time and planning.

If you have mercury fillings and now want them removed don’t rush to the first dentist and tell them to get them out.

As I said it is important that this procedure is carried out properly and in the right way.

You need to prepare for it, you need to eat properly beforehand and get your body ready for it.

The removal process should be done in sequence. You should take out the worst fillings first, then the second and so on. The mouth is split into sections and the teeth taken out over time. Alongside this you will be advised to eat a detox nutrition plan (which I have given you), and take Heavy Metal Chelator, a product which removes the mercury effectively from your body.

After the Mercury is Out

Continue to take heavy metal chelator for another 12 months. There is a healing process involved, the body was subject to this poison for a long time so it may take a while for the body to heal properly. Every person will respond in a different way.

In Sweden, they have conducted a number of studies where people, with pre-existing neurological and health issues (Chronic Fatigue-type symptoms), had mercury amalgams removed and 78% reported improvement in their health status.

Is There An Alternative to Mercury Fillings?

Composite materials are one of the most popular alternatives to mercury fillings.

Good quality composite is far less toxic than the mercury and lasts equally as long.

It is environmentally safe, contains no mercury and causes no pollution and is a lot better for our teeth as well as our overall health.

In my research for this article, as expected I found that all of the top results on the safety of mercury fillings come from different organisations and associations which all have the same message which says that mercury fillings are safe and there are very few side effects.

After reading this what do you think? I don’t mind if people disagree, we all have to make our own decisions based on the information we have. (leave me a comment below)

This seems to follow a very similar theme in most of my articles which look into a somewhat controversial subject.

I did however read something promising in my research which has said that 52% of American dentists are no longer using mercury fillings on their patients, so hopefully this is a sign that the change is coming.

Many people, far more learned than me, have spoken out about the dangers of mercury fillings.

Unsurprisingly this message is often met with condemnation by many who believe that mercury is safe and nothing to worry about.

“Why aren’t people dropping like flies from the fillings in their teeth?”

Because its like the drip drip of a tap and is sub clinical, immeasurable and easily attributed to numerous other factors.

I have never said that mercury is going to kill you instantly. Constant exposure to mercury will slowly but surely cause health problems over time. That is a guarantee IN MY OPINION.

The fact that people never see or refuse to see the link between mercury fillings and health problems in later life is amazing to me, as I think its obvious from what I have studied and my own PERSONAL experience with mercury removal.

Obviously its not the only contributer to health problems but a contributer all the same.

The human body was not designed to run on toxins and chemicals, I long for the day when we stop being exposed to so many.

A single dental amalgam filling may release as much over 15 micrograms of mercury per day.

The mercury released from fillings in our mouth isn’t the only way the mercury causes problems.

I read something fascinating during my research.

It has been predicted that by 2020 the largest cause of mercury pollution will come from people who have died with mercury fillings being cremated!

The emissions caused by the combustion of mercury fillings contaminate the air, soil, our food, waterways and wildlife. Seven to nine metric tons of mercury each year escapes into the atmosphere during cremations.

On the 22nd of September 2011, a doctor called Jeff Shuren who is a head of the branch of the FDA (US food and drug administration) responsible for the approval and safety of all medical devices, promised to make an announcement of the safety and future of amalgam by the end of 2011.

He continually stated that there would be an announcement made by the end of 2011. On the 30th of December 2011 the FDA said that no announcement would be made. To this day there has still been no announcement.

Are these filling safe, what do you think?

The big companies, organisations and governments rule the world, be part of a growing trend of people who stand up and say no to something which makes no sense!

Thanks for reading and for any extra advice please comment below or contact me direct.

Richard