Amalgam Provokes Passion in Dentists

August 24, 2009 By Julie Frey 15 Comments

Dentists have used dental amalgam to make metal fillings for a long time, and the FDA recently declared it’s (mostly) safe, but the controversy thrives.

Dentists are passionately divided on this issue. In fact, it’s hard to find a dentist who doesn’t have a deep-seated opinion on amalgam versus composite fillings. Even what to call the dental restorations is a big deal: names range from “silver fillings” to “mercury-releasing fillings.”

Read more: Silver Mercury Fillings Are Amazing… Or Maybe They’re Terrible

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: amalgam, mercury

About Julie Frey

Julie Frey is the Editor of TheWealthyDentist.com blog. She has dedicated her career to Internet marketing and communications, working side-by-side with dental marketing guru Jim Du Molin since 2006. She has a degree in Linguistics from Stanford University, has a passion for language and writing, and lives in San Francisco. Julie Frey+

Glen A. Tistaert, DDS

8-28-09
1. I do not understand your pronounceation of the word “composite.” You are saying it (compo sit). In aerospace, marine, automotive, fishing, engineering, etc. the word is pronounced (com pos it)
2. I placed a J&J Adaptic filling of great magnitude on the occlusal of #30, for a woman interested in esthetics. This was from the sample batch, when the product first came out of anterior teeth. There was no etch and bond at this time. This filling finally had to be replaced after 25 years because it was getting worn down and pot marked. It is doubtful that Ag would have done any better, if as well.
3. We had an environmental inspector go through our office. The inspector was interested in our silver filling material because our office was the first one in the Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills area that had silver filling material available. (at least that is what the inspector was told)
4. We keep Ag filling material only for instances where we have to fill below the gum in a wet field.
Glen A. Tistaert, DDS

5. We make all patients aware that we do have Ag filling material available. But, when patient’s ask me what I have in my own mouth, I tell them — composite fillings.
When they sometimes ask why I have composite, I tell them both Ag and Hg are classified as toxic waste every where but in people’s mouths.
http://www.myspace.com/begreenforlife Green Your Life

The truth of the matter is that anyone who would protect the use of a neuro-toxin like mercury is either a) effected by it, b) seriously misinformed, c) has an invested interest in it, and wants to avoid liability, or d) all of the above.

The root of the the issue is money verses human health. Mercury fillings are mostly mercury, 50% or more, is bio-accumulative, and continues to release mercury vapor over the life of the filling. The FDA and ADA state that some may experience an allergic reaction. Mercury is not an allergen, it is a toxin, therefore, you do not have an allergic reaction from exposure to a toxin.

The European treaty has phased out the use of mercury. Barack Obama wrote a law banning mercury exports and who is working for a treaty to phase out man-made mercury by a date certain, while the US continues to use the most cost effective substance considered to be legal, that being mercury. This is one of the worst forms of corruption against the human race.

Because some people are able to survive a toxic insult to the body doesn’t mean that it is safe, if it did, it would be considered safe to ingest rat poison, strychnine, or any other toxic poison. This a quality of life issue, and a matter of integrity.

Mercury Awareness Alliance

http://www.mercurypolicy.org
Steve Koral DMD

My patient with the 1984 vintage P-10 fillings in her molars came in today, and sure enough, they were still plenty serviceable. I don’t understand the controversy myself. I’ve got a practice full of 10, 15, 20 year old composite fillings that look like they were done last month. The Wealthy Dentist poll shows that over 50% of US dentists no longer use amalgam at all – if it has been done, it might be possible, to get over our attachment to Napoleonic era dentistry.
http://www.matthewyoungdds.net Dr. Matthew Young DDS

As a member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology I have researched this issue for several years. The mercury sublimates off the amalgam fillings and can be seen on our web site at http://www.iaomt.org. We show this video to new patients to help them appreciate how much is getting into their body. It has been measured by 17 independant studies and averages 18 micrograms per day, USDHHS maximum allowable dose is 3.2 micrograms and Health Canada levels are .98 micrograms per day. Also the informed consent issue is important. How many patients were told that the amalgam is 50% mercury by weight and releases these amounts every day in order to get true informed consent? Very few. As the learnered intermediary between the dental manufacturer and the patient we are given the legal duty to tell patients all the pros and cons of any dental material before placing them in the mouth. Finally anyone wanting to really know the systemmic effects of mercury amalgam should read Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment by Dr. Andrew Cutler PhD,PE availible on Amazon.com. It covers the myriad of metabolic pathways that are interrupted or damaged by very small amounts of mercury in the body. One of our new researchers, Dr. Panini from Ohio State has found nanogram amounts effecting the plasma membranes on coronary arteries and their ability to function normally when poisoned by mercury. I hope this discussion can proceed without prejudice and we can all learn how to handle this substance safer.

By the way….all my Canadian buddies pronounce the word composite the same way as well….its a colloquial thing.

Dr. Matt Young
Sandra Duffy

A technical error? Julie Frey makes a statement on the video that 22% of surveyed dentists answered: “yes, I tell them they have other potentially safer options,” yet the first graphic shows that 66% chose that answer. The second graphic (pie chart) matches Ms. Frey’s statement of 22%. You might want to correct that.

Dr. Young’s comment is of interest. The ADA apologists use the studies showing the lowest mercury vapor emissions, including one claiming an exposure of only 0.0014 mcg/Hg per day for an amalgam. In fact, at the high end there are studies showing 43 mcg/hg per day.

Not very many people have just one amalgam. Even the new FDA classification decision includes statistics that show that the average adult has four amalgams. That is 4 x 18 mcg = 72 mcg/hg per day. Other studies show that the average American emits 32-190 mcg of mercury per day in their feces (Osterblad, Skare, http://www.cfsn.com/dental.html ). It is logical to assume that their exposures correlate to those emissions, not counting the mercury retained in the tissues of the body.

Also, approximately 25% of the population has genetic markers that are correlated to the inability to detoxify mercury from the body (see Echeverria studies). Those people may be retaining most of their daily mercury exposure.
http://davemalrx@sbcglobal.net Dr. David W. Maloney, Pharm D., MBA. MA ( Lt Colonel, USAF, Ret)

After being treated with amalgam by at least a score of dentists for over 40 years, I can thank my board certified internal medicine/cardiologist for saving my life. Amalgam wiped out my immune system and left me vulnerable to infections (many), viral and fungal invasions, and squamous cell skin cancer. After 4 years, I am still in recovery and still pulling mercury off my body. For a full account of my ordeal, please go to Drug Topics magazine, 8 October 2007, p.56 for the full story. Amalgam is an abomination to humanity.
Kerry Searle

The day the insurance companies support alternative fillings to mercury fillings, mercury fillings will be gone. Most will only pay for the front teeth for “cosmetic reasons”. You’re on your own financially to use the resins with many policies. I know mine doesn’t pay. So are the amalgam production companies also in kahoots with the insurance companies?

The next question is what resins are the safest? If we are going to jump onto another boat, let’s make sure it’s the best one possible.

Also, dentistry products are one of the leading sources of mercury contamination of the environment. That’s another incentive to change right there.

And if dentists are warned about their risk to mercury exposure while practicing their profession, maybe reality will hit home just that much more.
Richard

I am not a dentist. I am a 69-year-old man who was so damaged by his amalgams that he became obviously senile. I am now teaching physics again. The first part of my cure was getting rid of the mercury fillings. I conclude dentists cannot be trusted – especially the one who removed the last filling without protecting me from it; I couldn’t speak for 10 days afterwards. That was the last time I have been in a dentist’s chair. That is the last time I will ever sit in a dentist’s chair. I predict my lack of trust is where your patients will go. Have a good time with with the effects of mercury on you and your dental assistants. I have found other ways to take care of my mouth.
http://www.melisadiagnostics.com Dave Asprey

The scientific debate about amalgam is over.

Melisa Diagnostics has a blood test that cultures a patient’s live white blood cells with different forms of mercury (inorganic, methyl mercury, thimerosol) to determine whether there is an inflammatory immune response to it. Especially in patients with chronic health conditions and mouths full of metals, there usually is an immune response on top of the direct toxic effects of the mercury. But it’s interesting that in a minority of patients, thimerosol (from injections) or methyl mercury (from fish) is the culprit, but these are usually patients without metal in their mouths.

It’s nice to be able to prove to a patient that their amalgam fillings are killing them before they make the decision to get them replaced with something safer.

Mercury is just the tip of the iceberg – significant percentages of patients are allergic to titanium or even gold, not to mention nickel, beryllium, and other metals found in dental implants.
Ruth, RDH

Just had to chuckle over the pronunciation issue of composite. I was a Canadian Dental Assistant and went to Texas to go to Hygiene school… Sure enough the dentist at my Texas college looked at me REALLY funny when I said “compo-sit” in our dental materials class! We say ‘COMpo-sit’, they say ‘com-POS-it’!
john

i have a split tooth and a double cap came off….revealing nearly a gram of amalgam…and the split tooth had old crumbles that would come loose now and then. my dentist wanted to drill them out and replace with.you guessed it….i have 14 large(my teeth are large) huge amalgam fillings….some from 30 years ago…I am 48 and needless to say i have been exposed and am having problems functioning lately. i need 20 grand to get this poison out and cant go to a toxicolgist tl i get insurance,,,guess what…that means another 3 months to get ins to kick in, and still they will probably worm out due to pre existing….get all my tooth pulled? decapitation? what? what now? sue the dentist (probably he put in over half them nasty devil glitter…) any suggestions…for 35 years i have complained of metallic taste….my skin burns and my mouth is white and has bled all over for 35 years. at 17 i noticed aluminum can drinks made me feel pale and weak and metallic taste would amplify. i have been thru 10 drillings of old ones and they all made me sick for days…the dentist says” no…its safe…no…these symptoms are poor brushing…whats next lock jaw? brain dead monkey symtoms? can i bee anymore crazier than i am? you wann walk in these shoes…like when i flipped out and then was fine then wham…cant function….called sorry…ADD…manic…cant concentrate…(am prodigious at the interval) the interval is a lull in the symptoms….no hot foods…no crunchy foods…eat food excessively to purge the merury…does your body lie? i salivate excessively and have constant face burn where secretions gather…i went to a merc free dentist…he said bingo…the whole room is fuming and heres some gum and the technicians left the room….80 microns at the doorway…yeah…eat hot acidic lasagna then coffee and then chew nicotene gum….radioactive….terrible headaches…constant bone pain…oh its my imagination…this new dentist said its obvious all my symtoms are obviously that poison…tuna? forget it….it makes me cringe…too much pain to chelate it…any suggestions?
john

tired of convincing by my endless chatter. i need to do something. help! i am cofused and this is not first time i have tried to forget this issue…merc builds and builds…mostly it deposits in the brain. i want it removed but kant get the funds…any lawyers out there? i am a good case…merc free dentist says i have 7 physical symptoms….i have been unemployed for 30 years…but thank god for the intervals…i didnt say i was stupid or lazy…just never know when i will be a basket case. its not stress related either bingo brain. mercury sucks. right now i take beta carotene and zinc…it helps so far. cant eat hot or crunchy foods..except cold veggies etc…no nuts…(my favorite foods) so i hope i can discipline. take care
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paul

If your dentist is still using amalgam fillings he is either a sadist, mentally retarded or a complete dimwit