Amalgam fillings

Adapted from “Life Again, after mercury poisoning” by Warren Stewart, PhD 

Amalgam Fillings 

The Dangers of Amalgam Fillings 

Findings were obtained in Denmark, where amalgam fillings were placed in the teeth of monkeys. After one year these amalgam fillings, which weighed no more than 0.7-1.2 grams each, caused a deposit of mercury in the spinal ganglia, the anterior pituitary, adrenal gland, medulla, liver, kidneys, lungs and intestinal lymph glands. In Sweden it was found that pregnant monkeys exposed to mercury vapour experienced early abortion, premature birth, a low birth weight, along with prenatal death. Furthermore, it has been found that female dental assistants working with amalgams have a lower fertility rate than other women in general. Women who prepared thirty or more amalgams per week and did not take sufficient precautionary measures when preparing the amalgams had a 50% lower probability of conceiving compared with women who had not been exposed to the amalgams.

Mercury has also been found to damage kidneys. Within thirty days of the placement of twelve amalgam fillings in six sheep, there was a 50% impairment of kidney function and by two months this had risen to 60%. Within ten days of the placement of an amalgam filling a high percentage of normal oral and intestinal bacteria had become mercury resistant; when bacteria becomes resistant to mercury it turns the different isotopes of mercury into elemental mercury vapour, which is then recycled back into the body.

When a tooth is drilled out, a resin is placed in before the application of the amalgam filling. This is supposed to seal the cavity and prevent any of the metals in the amalgam from entering into the body or pulp of the tooth and subsequently through the root into the bone and surrounding tissues. Studies have shown using radioactive labelling that mercury does in fact migrate through the protective resin into the tooth. The pulp of the tooth extends to the end of the root where there is a restricted opening at the very end to allow the body to provide blood and nutrients to the tooth. Mercury also gets into the body in the form of vapour through the nose. It is absorbed by the mucus and passed rapidly to the brain.

In short mercury interferes with a whole host of vital body functions and destroys body chemistry. For instance, chronic fatigue can be related to oxygen insufficiency; mercury prevents oxygen from binding with the haemoglobin in red blood cells. Slow healing processes are in part caused by zinc deficiency; mercury interferes with the metabolizing of zinc in the body. Having to get up regularly at night to pass water is a result of insufficient action of the posterior pituitary hormone; mercury hinders the production and activity of this hormone.

Nevertheless, the primary target organ locations are: the kidneys, the heart muscle, the lungs, the liver, the spleen, the brain and nerve tissue; other target tissues include: the thyroid gland, the pituitary gland, the adrenal glands, the testes, bone marrow, skeletal muscle, intestinal walls and red blood cells.

The level of mercury in the brain will remain high for many years as its release form there is very slow. It has been known to remain present in the brain for up to ten years. Thus there is no such thing as a stable amalgam filling; it is without a doubt a known and proven source of mercuric poisoning. Each one will leak mercury in every direction into the body, into the gum tissue surrounding the tooth, into the air of the mouth, into the saliva and hence into the bloodstream; acted upon by normal bacteria in the body it will be turned into the dangerously toxic methyl mercury.

Removal of Amalgam Fillings Improves Health.

For those who have suffered from long term illnesses which appeared to have no basis, tests that always came out clear, varying symptoms that had no apparent connection, surely the proof is in recovery. Having my amalgam fillings removed certainly improved my health. I had become terribly ill; I spent most of the day in bed; I could not concentrate or think clearly, the thought of undertaking a task, even a simple one was difficult; I had sore eyes and I no longer even felt confident enough to drive. Now I seem to have boundless energy; I am up early and I have completed many projects including writing several books. My dentist told me that while some people do improve in health after having their amalgam fillings removed, others do not. However, when the mercury level is high the body has a real challenge getting rid of it. People sometimes expect to feel healthier as soon as the amalgams are removed, but a variety of factors like diet and nutrition determine how long it takes to expel the mercury.

Many experts still insist that if amalgam fillings are not appearing to cause problems then there is no need to have them removed. But the big question is: How likely is it that someone with amalgams will be aware that the fillings are causing problems; and how much damage would the body have already sustained until problems start to show? Moreover, is it actually wise to wait until problems start to appear, for who can tell how much mercuric poisoning the body would have been subjected to up to that point? Since mercuric poisoning can cause long term and even irreversible damage to the body, every amalgam filling is a potential time bomb just waiting to go off! A low mercury level in the urine does not necessarily mean that you have low mercury toxicity; it probably means that the body is storing the mercury. Dr Huggins found in one patient a urine level of 12μg (12 micro grams; that is 12 parts in one million). After the removal of the amalgam fillings however the level of mercury in the patient’s urine shot up to 136μg and her symptoms started improving. She had suffered from low body temperature, and mercuric poisoning has been known to interfere with the normal functioning of the thyroid gland which is instrumental in controlling body temperature. Her white blood cell count also, which had previously been abnormally high came down to more normal figures. Her body temperature too stabilized.

The improvement may be slow in some and dramatic in others, but it does happen. Another patient, a young school boy, suffered from chronic fatigue and as a result was only able to attend school on a part-time basis; following the removal of just one small amalgam filling (called a pit filling) his energy levels improved so much that he was able to catch up with his peers within three weeks. The most dramatic case however, must be of a 32 year old woman who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis twelve years earlier and had been confined to a wheelchair for many years. A little over a year after having her amalgam fillings removed, she was skiing with Dr Huggins! Interestingly enough, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, in a letter to Dr Huggins, claimed that her condition had nothing to do with the amalgam fillings.

Overall 89% of all people who have had all their amalgam fillings removed report that their symptoms improve or are completely eliminated.

Mercury Affects the Immune System.

The immune system is a fine tuned complex of glandular parts, specialized immune cells and chemical interactions. Mercury can pass through the roof of the mouth and into the brain ... in very close proximity is the pituitary gland. It is this vitally important gland that stimulates the immune system by the release of growth hormones. As it happens, the appearance of many of our immune deficiency diseases coincided with the introduction of amalgam in fillings; thus it would be a natural conclusion to attribute this modern day phenomenon with mercury poisoning. Mercury has been found in high levels in the pituitary, thereby potentially giving rise to any untold number of problems with the immune system. Studies have found mercury to affect immune cell function. It has been found that after the removal of six amalgam fillings there was an increase in the number of immune cells the T-lymphocytes, the percentage of these increased from 47% to 73%; reinsertion of four amalgam fillings decreased the T-lymphocytes to 55%. With the immune system not functioning properly not only does it become harder for the body to fight viral and bacterial infections, but sufferers may also experience a variety of symptoms associated with immune system deficiency caused primarily by mercury poisoning. Another factor that must also be considered is the connection of cancer with mercury poisoning. Dr Huggins had seen a patient whose white blood cell count was 235,000, so dangerously high that the patient was in danger of developing leukaemia. After the removal of all his amalgam fillings however, his white blood cell count came down to 60,000 within two days and he was no longer living in fear of leukaemia. The mineral selenium which plays a vital role in the immune system can help reduce mercuric toxicity by binding with it and allowing the body to dispose of it eventually; the mineral is also important for the production of enzymes which generally assist the body in the prevention of disease causing processes. 

A study done in Sweden on over 300 people, all suffering from a variety of medical problems, showed marked improvement over the broad range of their symptoms, when they had their amalgam fillings taken out and replaced with non mercury ones. Prior to the amalgam filings being removed, participants in the study were taking approximately 65 days sick leave between them on average; however, two years following the removal of the amalgam fillings this figure was reduced to 44 days, a percentage drop of 30%. The range of symptoms that were reported to have improved and the extent of the improvement varied from minor to quite dramatic nevertheless, all the participants reported some kind of improvement. Statistics compiled by the Foundation for Toxic Free Dentistry used studies done on over 1,500 patients, and showed percentage improvements on more than 30 different symptoms of between 54% and 97%.

Amalgam Removal and Detoxification

Finally, when amalgam fillings are removed, some people can initially experience unpleasant reactions. Drilling and local anaesthetics can certainly stir up the mercury laying dormant in the jaw bone and surrounding tissues; mercury vapour is also produced due to the drilling. Most people however, do not experience any ill side affects; for those who do, these affects usually do not last long. It is important however, not to have any residual matter from the fillings enter into the body accidentally, for example by being washed down into the throat during the procedure. For people feeling anxious about having their amalgam fillings removed, it may be a good idea to practice some relaxation or meditation exercises to reduce any anxiety that may occur during the process. All in all, no one suffers long term illnesses from having amalgam fillings removed and since it is a question of possible permanent damage to vital organs and body processes, the benefits are needless to say, innumerable.