Posts Tagged ‘amalgam’

If you keep up with this blog at all, you'll remember that we recently featured an article by world renowned dentist Dr. Tom McGuire about the dangers of mercury amalgam fillings and their potential for major health risks. (if not, click here)  For so long the FDA has remained silent on this issue, even going as far as to claim its safety for a number of years.  Of course they also say the same about fluoride, which is a known poison.

But, I digress.

The FDA has always been adamant about protecting animals from the dangers of mercury, all the while taking a rather casual approach to its warnings for humans.  An ointment used to help with lameness in horses that contained mercury was pulled from the market in 2002 after the death of a horse from Alabama raised speculation.

Were mercury fillings ever questioned?  No.

Not until now, not until a lawsuit.  If it took legal action to get me to do my job, well you probably wouldn't be reading this now would you?  Finally, a small national consumer group called Consumers For Dental Choice has sued the FDA in order to get a ruling on the dangers of mercury in "silver" fillings.  This, accompanied by letters from congress prompted the FDA to quickly update their website from proclaiming safety, to classifying it as a device and making mention of the little fact that it “may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.”

Maybe this legislation system will get something done finally.  Now, if we could only do something about fluoride.  Well, baby steps I guess…

Remember, you can read more about the dangers of mercury amalgam in fillings at Dr. Tom's website www.dentalwellness4u.com

This week we are honored to feature an article by world renowned dentist Dr. Tom McGuire:

Amalgam Silver Fillings and Chronic Mercury Poisoning

This article briefly introduces you to the role amalgam fillings play in chronic mercury poisoning. But I can assure you there’s much more to this important topic than what is included here. If, after reading it, you want more information I recommend The Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings . . . Hazardous to Your Health. This book is the A to Z guide to this subject and is available on my website.

Mercury amalgam fillings are hazardous to your health! Period! But technically it isn’t the amalgam filling itself but the poisonous mercury vapor released by it. The fact is that mercury vapor is continuously being released from these fillings by even the most common forms of daily stimulation, such as chewing, brushing and grinding your teeth. Eighty percent of the vapor released enters the body and, over time, the accumulated mercury will directly and indirectly contribute to, or make worse every health issue we face.

To fully understand just how toxic mercury is you need to know that:

• Mercury is the most poisonous naturally occurring, non-radioactive, substance on our planet.
• Mercury is far more toxic than any of the heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and cadmium.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is NO safe level of mercury!

More specifically, mercury can:
• Attach to proteins and enzymes and interfere with their normal function.
• Create autoimmune diseases and impair the cardiovascular system.
• Interfere with, or overload, the natural detoxification pathways of the liver, kidneys, skin, and bowel.
• Impair the function of the nervous, endocrine, enzymatic, gastrointestinal, reproductive, and urinary systems.
• Make you more susceptible to allergic reactions.
• Cause harmful intestinal bacteria, including Candida, to become immune to antibiotics and antifungal medications.
• Dramatically deplete the body of its most important antioxidants.
• Diminish the effectiveness of the immune system, lowering your resistance to disease, other heavy metals and toxins.
• Cause extensive cellular and tissue damage by creating tremendous amounts of toxic and disease causing free radicals.
• Interfere with disease fighting white blood cells and inactivate neutrophils, the most important type of white blood cell. (White blood cells are critically important immune system components and are responsible for killing bacteria in the blood and soft tissues.

In 2008 Norway, Sweden and Denmark officially banned the use of mercury amalgam fillings. In that same year, the FDA stated that mercury released from amalgam fillings can be harmful to the pregnant mother, fetus and nursing child. Other European countries are restricting the use of amalgams, with the intention of banning them. Clearing, the handwriting is on the wall regarding amalgam fillings.

Yet, the American Dental Association (ADA) and pro-amalgam dentists still continue to argue that amalgams are safe and harmless. They say this in spite of the fact that we know even one atom of mercury is doing some harm to the body, and as long as mercury is continuously being released from these fillings they can never, ever, be considered ‘safe’ nor ‘harmless’. To even suggest that mercury, in any amount, is safe, or harmless, is inaccurate, misleading and harmful to patients who were told that it isn’t.

To date, no tests are available that can tell you exactly how much mercury your amalgam fillings have released, how much of it has been stored in your body, where it is located, or the specific damage it is doing. But if you have, or had, amalgam fillings you are mercury toxic to some degree and it could very well be a contributing factor to every symptom or health problem you are facing, or will face. (Note: There are tests available that indicate how much mercury is coming out of your body.)

If you have symptoms, or diseases, directly or indirectly, related to chronic mercury poisoning it’s important to know that the mercury released from amalgam fillings will be a contributor to them. For those planning a family, it’s absolutely necessary to understand that mercury released from the mother’s amalgams can be a significant contributor in the cause of autism and other learning and developmental disorders.

Summing it Up

The key to taking charge of, and responsibility for your health, is to access the information needed to make informed and intelligent decisions. If you don’t have that information you can’t make those choices and you’ll continue to be a victim. If your goal is to improve your health and well being, then you cannot afford to overlook any threat to your health. And there is no doubt that mercury released from amalgam fillings poses a potentially serious threat to your health.

It’s important to understand that, while it’s an essential first step, it’s not enough just to safely remove your amalgam fillings. This is because you can never achieve optimal health as long as your body is still being poisoned by the mercury that has accumulated there. Thus, for some it will also be important to participate in a mercury detoxification program. (This subject is dealt with in much more detail in Mercury Detoxification: The Natural Way to Remove Mercury from Your Body, also available on my website.)

It is my hope that this brief overview of the relationship of amalgam fillings to chronic mercury poisoning will motivate you to learn more about this subject and to at least consider having your amalgam fillings safely removed and replaced. (My website has the largest and most comprehensive listing of mercury free and mercury safe dentists.)

In health,

Tom

About Dr. Tom

Tom McGuire, DDS, is a leading authority on mercury amalgam fillings, chronic mercury poisoning, mercury detoxification, and holistic dental wellness. Dr. McGuire is president of the Dental Wellness Institute, founder of the International Association of Mercury Free Dentists (IAMFD) and author of a number of books on holistic dental wellness. You can visit his popular and informative website at www.dentalwellness4u.com. He is available for phone consultations.

His articles and advice have been featured in: