Dental Fillings: Eating Mercury for the Holidays?

Happy holidays! Lots of chewing happens at this time of the year, and for those with amalgam fillings, you’re getting more than just the turkey! The World Health Organization warns that mercury “may cause harmful effects to the nervous, digestive, respiratory, immune systems and to the kidneys, besides causing lung damage. ... Recent studies suggest that mercury may have no threshold below which some adverse effects do not occur.”

            Despite these findings, amalgam fillings continue to be used. They have contained approximately 43 to 50.5 percent mercury by weight for more than a century. Mercury vapor is continuously released from amalgam restorations (see the video of a smoking tooth on iaomt.org), and numerous studies show that the number of amalgam surfaces correlates with brain, blood and urine concentrations of mercury. While the rate and amount of mercury release is dependent on numerous factors, amalgam fillings are the major source of blood mercury for those with fillings that do not work with mercury.

            The effects of mercury on neural tissue include mood changes, memory and concentration problems, headache, fatigue, and reduction in hand steadiness and manual dexterity. Mercury has been shown to be a contributing factor in multiple sclerosis and to create the same damage to brain tissue as that found in Alzheimer’s disease. One study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease even concluded that “the elimination of industrial and medical usage of mercury would be the single most effective public health preventative measure which we could implement.”

            But not everyone has adverse effects to low levels of mercury exposure, and it may only take a small amount for others to have adverse effects. Numerous genes have been identified which regulate the toxicity of mercury. Removal, when not carefully performed, can result in a post-removal spike in blood and urine mercury. The International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) recommends certain guidelines to reduce the likelihood and severity of such a spike. The guidelines include using activated charcoal, positive pressure oxygen, a rubber dam or isolite, and special suctions. Nutritional supplements and chelating agents have been shown to be beneficial as well.

            Individuals that have their amalgam fillings removed show a 60 to 76 percent reduction in their urine and blood mercury levels after six months. After one year, these individuals have comparable mercury levels to those that have never had amalgam fillings. In many studies—and from personal experience—removal alleviates symptoms that are associated with mercury exposure. There are only a few offices in South Carolina that follow the recommended IAOMT guidelines, and we are the only one in the Columbia area. When having these types of fillings removed, we encourage you to ask your dentist to follow suit.

Take control of your health. Your body is one large system. Dental health is a part of total body health.

Joanna S. Dover, DMD, owner of Forest Drive Dental Care, 5101 Forest Dr., Ste. A, Columbia. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 803-782-8786.