Warning: Mercury is a Biohazard
When an amalgam filling (containing 50% mercury) is removed from your mouth, it must be contained in the same way as any other toxic waste.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is much better to never have amalgams put in. If you already have them, it is recommended that they be removed by a holistic dentist as soon as possible.
Amalgam, or what dentists call "silver fillings," is made from 50% mercury, 35% silver and 15% tin. This blend is easy for a dentist to work with, and requires much less expertise in its application than, say, a composite, or a softer, non-toxic material. A significant level of mercury vapor is released by simply chewing your food.
The federal agency responsibly for regulation of allowable levels of substances at the workplace has established 50 ug./cc as the maximum allowable level of mercury level in the workplace. The average level of mercury vapor in the mouths of people with amalgams varies between 50 and 150 ug./cc. When removed from your mouth, dental amalgam is considered a toxic waste by the Environmental Protection Agency and must be handled in a certain way to protect dental office personnel from mercury poisoning. This is the same metal, unchanged, which just came out of your tooth!
U.S. dentists, with some notable exceptions, disparage the idea of amalgam-associated mercury toxicity. This is unfortunate for their patients, as well as for the dentists themselves. There is little room for doubt, the unusual incidence of depression and high rate of suicide in dentists is related to mercury toxicity. Europe, led by Sweden, where dental amalgam is being phased out, is coming around to an official recognition of this problem. Soon or later, American dentistry must follow. Hopefully, sooner, more than later.
The official American Dental Association position on amalgam is that not enough mercury is released to pose a hazard this despite hard evidence to the contrary. Dental schools have long taught the rationalization that the mercury is bound to the silver in the amalgam and does not escape to poison the patient. This is wrong.
In the U.S., dentistry, as a profession, does not question this party line. They respect authority as represented by their trade union, the ADA, too much to be objective about the matter. Of course, there are exceptions, as more and more dentists are becoming affected by the mercury vapor, themselves, and are turning to more alternative methods of detoxification, such as DMPS chelation and Far infrared sauna detoxification. In fact, many of these are already taking hard core preventive measures such as wearing protective gas masks during the drilling process.
In Europe, as usual in such things, there is much more awareness about this issue. Dentists in Europe recommend against using amalgams and suggest the use of composite (a plastic substance) or gold to fill teeth.
Mercury detoxification and Far infrared saunas
In one study performed by American researchers, the sweat of people using a conventional sauna was found to be 95 to 97% water while the sweat of those using an Far infrared thermal system was 80 to 85% water with the non-water portion principally cholesterol, fat-soluble toxins, toxic heavy metals (such as mercury and aluminum), sulfuric acid, sodium, ammonia and uric acid. This unusually high concentration of heavy metals and other fat-soluble toxins is not found in the sweat from normal exercise. Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive element on earth.
Mercury detoxification using these saunas is not only uniquely helpful in mercury detoxification, but also in removing fat-stored toxins from the body. Mercury detoxification by combining hypothermic therapy using the Far infrared sauna, as well as exercise and chelation. Mercury detoxification the body on a cellular level. |
