How many metal amalgam fillings do you have? Ever wondered whether the mercury in your fillings could be seeping into your body and causing problems? I have suffered from eczema, asthma and allergies ever since I was a child and have heard some of the hype regarding the danger of these old style silver fillings and a recent visit to the dentists has brought my fears back to the fore.
I would think most people opt for the new white fillings, most for cosmetic reasons. I have always asked for the new type of fillings as I feel they are safer for me and don’t contain any mercury.
My amalgam filling nightmare…
In the last few weeks I had to visit the dentists, having recently registered at a local National Health practice. I can’t afford private treatment now I don’t have the luxury of private dental health cover. I had an x-ray which identified a cavity beneath an existing white filling and I told the dentist I wanted a white filling again. She asked me why, saying she was playing devils advocate and suggested that amalgam fillings are not dangerous at all.
Dentists think amalgam fillings are safe
The view from most professional dentists is that dental amalgam is considered safe, affordable and durable; available evidence shows that there is no connection between degenerative diseases and metal fillings. However most of us still prefer the new white fillings for our own reasons, be they cosmetic or health. The dentist explained how the new white fillings, or composite to give them their real name, contain a much larger number of chemicals than amalgam, many of which are organic compounds and so much more likely to cause allergies compared to the elemental metals in amalgam. I had never heard this before and it did give me some food for thought. Am I jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire?
Are composite fillings safer than amalgam?
Composite fillings are made from a mixture of plastic and fine glass particles. Amalgam fillings are made from a mixture of silver, tin, zinc, copper, and mercury. Mercury is nearly 50% of the mixture. This was news to me; mercury is a poison in very small quantities, isn’t it?
I still felt that there is no smoke without fire and asked to have a white filling. However the dentist had other ideas, and as soon as my tooth was drilled and the old filling removed she told me I had no choice but to have an amalgam filling. Surely plastic and glass are safer than mercury? I was furious, and I only did the research once I’d got home, complete with a shiny new mercury packed amalgam filling. What could I do? The metal filling went in and I couldn’t really do much about it short of bursting out of the surgery with a big hole in my tooth!
Gold fillings are the safest option
I did ask the dentist if there were any other alternatives to metal or white fillings and apparently Gold fillings are the only allergy free solution. Yeah, right! Who can afford Gold fillings? They can cost six to ten times more than traditional amalgam fillings. Cast Gold fillings, made from gold and a mixture of other metals, should last for seven years or more. Gold foil, made from pure gold, should last for ten to fifteen years. Amalgam fillings should last at least seven years and usually longer. Composite fillings should last five years. This evidence does suggest that the new white fillings don’t last as long and who wants more visits to the dentists to have fillings replaced if they don’t need to?
Double the exposure from double amalgam filling going in and out!
Anyway to cut a long story short, I couldn’t eat on the tooth afterwards and wrote a letter of complaint to the dental practice. I phoned up to ask for another appointment the following day and also received a very well thought out, carefully worded and polite letter in response. They did take my concerns seriously but at the end of the day they still stand by the view that amalgam is completely safe and sometimes is the best treatment for the patient, in which case they would insist on the metal filling. They pointed out that of course I could opt out of the National Health for part or all of my treatment and pay for whatever treatment I wanted. I wish I’d been stronger and told the dentist I did not want the metal filling but we learn from our mistakes.
Amalgam fillings are banned in Denmark
I know there is no absolute proof that my fears are founded on any fact but Norway, Denmark and Sweden all banned mercury amalgam fillings in 2008. To read about it visit the government.se. In a prepared statement, Norwegian Minister of the Environment Erik Solheim said “Mercury is among the most dangerous environmental toxins. The Swedish ban is for both environment and health reasons.”
Mercury filling allergies
Here is another website which talks about mercury poisoning: Amalgam Illness Diagnosis and Treatment website. You just need to visit Google and type in ‘mercury filling allergies’ and a whole host of other websites come up.
The danger of removing amalgam fillings
The reason for insisting I had a metal filling was bleeding of some kind. Does anyone know if this is a legitimate argument for not having a white filling? The surgery agreed to see me the same day I phoned up and my appointment was with one of the practice managers. After a brief examination I was told that I could have a crack in the tooth, which explains why it doesn’t hurt until I bite down on food; the suggested treatment was to remove the amalgam filling and replace with a composite white filling with pins to hold the cracked tooth together. In the case of a cracked tooth composite would work better as it adheres completely to all surfaces of the cavity, thus giving a weak tooth more stability. So the good news I’m getting the amalgam filling replaced, but will that expose me to even more mercury than having the filling put in?
Stand your ground and demand the treatment you want
We should all stand up for what we believe. If no one questions anything we never move forwards. I will now insist on seeing a dentist that I am confident in for future visits, but I’ve learnt a valuable lesson. Stand your ground, and don’t be scared to ask for a second opinion if you disagree with what your dentist is proposing. I’m not sure on the whole amalgam vs composite debate, perhaps all the hype is just that.
What are your views on fillings? Are they safe?
So what are your views on fillings? Do you think amalgam fillings, containing mercury, are dangerous to our health? Or are the white fillings just as potentially dangerous? What kind of fillings do you have when given the choice? Have you ever felt bullied into treatment you didn’t want? Should I bite the bullet and go back to private dental treatment? – no pun intended. Geddit? Bite the silver bullet! Do I really need to ask?
Please let me know your views on fillings and keep on brushing those pearly whites!
There are lots of weird and wonderful ways of removing small amounts of mercury that get into your system when you have an amalgam filling removed. Howard Carr of Three Counties Therapy suggested the following: Chlorella (20 a day), Vitamin C (4 a day), Selenium (1 a day) and Activated Charcoal (1 a day). Sounds like quite a performance but could be worth it to avoid nasty side effects from mercury in the amalgam filling.
Just to elaborate a bit on the recipe I sometimes suggest to clients :
The chlorella comes in this case in tablet form, each tablet being 500 mg., but it is also available in other formats, such as powder. For this use I would recommend going for the highest recommended dosage on the label.
The vitamin C here was in 1000 mg. capsules but again can be bought as powder to be dissolved in water. 4000 mg. is quite a high dosage and can cause diarrhoea in some people in which case I would suggest reducing to a lower intake.
Selenium should only be taken in very small quantities and the label will specify the highest safe dosage.
Activated charcoal can also be found as tablets, granules or powder and the dosages given on the label should be followed.
I really wonder about the white fillings? probably just as dangerous
You’re probably right, and lots of people would agree. But I can’t help thinking back to the mercury element. 50% of an amalgam filling is mercury – from Wikipedia: amalgam fillings contain approximately equal parts 50% of liquid mercury and 50% of an alloy powder containing. Mercury is a known poison so I just keep thinking I don’t want that in my mouth… I do have mercury fillings in my mouth though, although as they get old I’m replacing with white.
I am currently watching a movie called The Beautiful Truth. Roughly 20 minutes in, there is shown a test being done on a mercury filling.
The filling is in a tooth which is no longer in a person’s mouth. The filling is said to be at least 50 years old. When the person doing the test simply uses a toothbrush on the mercury filling the way we all do every day, a special camera captures the vapors rising from the filling.
There is also a “sniffer”, which measures the amount of mercury now in the air from the brushing action. One person says something to the effect that “a factory would be shut down if the number showed 100”. Well, the number registering on the “sniffer” was 191.
The scene is pretty frightening, especially for those of us who have mercury fillings.
Oh now I really do need to get rid of my mercury fillings. They really should be banned.
Dentistry should really be going the way of the dodo bird !!!! a new peptide called p11-4 has been developed by leeds university , dentists are going to charge us an exhorbitant amount of money to paint this stuff on peoples teeth , but the reality is if it was put into toothpaste everyone would be getting around with a perfect set of choppers , there would be no need to drill and fill teeth as it attracts calcium to the site of the damage on the tooth and allows the tooth to heal itself, and what a wonderful world it would be if everybody had perfect teeth. I would love that the inventor of this marvellous new idea donated it to humanity so everyone can benefit. Unfortunately that wont happen as capitalism, greed ,money ,governments and the bullshit society we have created will get in the way and ruin it for everyone!!!!
YOu mean this Peter? WOW! Now how do I get me some of this stuff… would it stop nerves dying off in your teeth though? http://www.healthiertalk.com/breakthrough-could-make-dental-drills-obsolete-4611