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Mercury in your Mouth - should you get it out?

Amalgam fillings continue to release mercury vapour into your mouth from the day they are placed to the day they are removed. Hot tea or coffee, tooth grinding, chewing gum and having your teeth polished will further increase the mercury emissions from your silver fillings from time to time, as shown in the compelling video clip, Smoking Teeth=Poison Gas.  

And if you have different types of metal in your mouth, such as a gold crown, chrome denture, stainless steel denture clasps etc, your mouth will be more acidic and the electro-galvanism created between the metals will accelerate the off-gassing.

"Assuming the amalgams are 50% mercury and the emission of 5 micrograms Hg/day then it would take 182 years to lose all of the mercury if the rate stayed consistent. At 20 micrograms per day the time would be 45 years. Considering that 80% of inhaled mercury is retained in the human body for some extended period of time it is obvious that dental amalgams would be one of the major contributors to human mercury body burden."  From a study on the release of mercury from dental amalgams by Dr Boyd Haley, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Kentucky.

So just get them out

Unfortunately, when it comes to having your fillings removed, no matter how careful your dentist is, you, the dentist and the dental assistant will be exposed to even more toxic mercury vapour as your filling is drilled out. You'll breathe it in, absorb it through your gums and swallow it.

What mercury does to your body

Mercury is extremely neurotoxic. Mercury vapour escaping from amalgam fillings, can attack any nerve tissue in the body and will also attach to inflamed tissue such as the heart and vessels. Ingested mercury is toxic to the beneficial microbes in the mouth and gut. When these organisms are destroyed, so is our immune system. We become more sensitive to allergens.

What you can do to reduce your exposure to mercury from fillings

  • Don't let the dentist put amalgam in your mouth. Find out about alternative filling materials and make it clear, before you get in the dental chair that you do not want amalgam placed under any circumstances.
  • If you already have it, use a chelating mouthwash after meals to help eliminate some of the mercury gassing off your fillings
  • Plan to have your amalgams removed......gradually
  • Don't get several amalgam fillings out at once - it might make you sick
  • Take charcoal capsules just before and right after your appointment
  • Throughout your dental appointment, rinse your mouth out regularly with the chelating mouthwash.
  • Use an oral heavy metal detoxifier, such as Bio-chelat by NissenMedica, to help prevent new uptake of heavy metals and bind existing free heavy metal ions.
  • Make sure your bowels are working well enough to excrete the chelated toxic metals

 

What your dentist can do to protect you

  • Use a rubber dam - if you need to have more than one filling done at a time, the dam may prevent you swallowing chunks of amalgam.
    • However, the dam does not provide a perfect seal. Filling particles get pushed between the dam and your tooth by the air and water pressure of the drill and then sit around your gums until the dam is removed - this may be an hour later. In that time, your gums will absorb mercury and may even give you a "tattoo".
  • Use a high speed drill with plenty of water and a metal cutting bur. Remove the filling in chunks rather than vapourising the filling material.
  • Use "high volume" suction. They usually do unless there is no dental assistant available, in which case slow suction may be used.
  • Continually flush your mouth with water.
  • Allow you to rinse regularly with a chelating mouthwash throughout the procedure.