A new study from the University of Saskatchewan suggests that old silver fillings may contain less mercury — or at least less toxic mercury — than new amalgam fillings.
This would be great news… except for the all-important unanswered question: where did the mercury go?
The optimistic explanation is that the metallic mercury turns into metacinnabar (beta-mercuric sulfide), believed to be non-toxic, certainly known to be less toxic than elemental mercury.
The pessimistic explanation, of course, has the mercury being released directly into the body, where it can wreak all kinds of havoc.
The researchers found that fresh amalgams showed the chemical signature of metallic mercury, 20-year-old dental fillings showed metacinnabar instead.
Read the press release or read the full report