Mercury Fillings

At the Aesthetic Dentistry of Bellevue, we have never used mercury amalgam fillings or buildups. We almost never use metal restorations, and only with your consideration. Should you desire your mercury or metal fillings be removed, we will provide extra precaution to avoid having mercury and metal vapor enter further into your body. See www.iaomt.org

Mercury tattoo	After Mercury Removal

Safety of Dental Amalgam (Mercury) Fillings

Links:
http://www.ewg.org/issues/fluoride/20050606/index.php
http://www3.caringbridge.org/ut/jankini2/

Brief: More than 100 million mercury fillings are placed in American mouths each year (ADA). Most are in violation of Manufacturer’s safety recommendations and contribute to the total mercury level of the body. Better fillings are available without mercury.

Summary: There are two government approved disposal sites for dental filling material, either a licensed and bonded hazardous waste company or a patient’s mouth. Amalgam is too hazardous for the County Dump or the City Sewer.

The Amalgam manufacturer’s safety recommendations (Caulk/Dentsply MSDS) rule out the use of amalgam for the vast majority of patients.

Do not have amalgams in contact to dissimilar metal restorations
Do not have amalgams in patients with severe renal deficiency
Do not have amalgams in patients with known allergies to amalgam
Do not have amalgams under a cast crown
Do not have amalgams in children 6 and under
Do not have amalgams in women who are or may become pregnant

In practical terms, women should not have amalgams until after menopause and no one should have both cast crowns and fillings in their mouth at the same time.

The good news: Amalgam fillings are NOT necessary. They look bad and are bad for most people. Other materials look better and work better, but tend to be more expensive. The “least expensive alternative” health care is not healthy.

Composition of Amalgam:

50% Mercury
35% Silver
14% Tin
0.1% Zink
0.3% Copper

Is this amount of Mercury Significant?

The number one source of mercury in most people has been documented to be dental amalgam fillings and most of the thousands of people with several mercury fillings who have been tested were found to have daily exposure levels exceeding Government safety guidelines.

US EPA 1996 “integrated Risk Information systems, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Mark Richardson, Environmental Health Directorate, Health Canada, Assessment of Mercury Exposure and Risks from Dental Amalgam 1995, Final Report.
G.M. Richardson et al “A Monte Carlo Assessment of Mercury Exposure and Risks from Dental Amalgam.” Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 2(4), 709-761
Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry, US Public Health Service, “Toxicological Profile for Mercury”, 1994. B
Windham, Ed., Annotated Bibliography: Health Effects of Mercury and Amalgam Fillings and Results of Filling Replacement 1999 (over 400 Medical Studies and scientific journal references).

Does Mercury Vapor Escape from Fillings?

YES. Scientific evidence from Universities of Iowa, Calgary, Oral Roberts and New Zealand.

Svare, C.W. Dental Amalgam Related Mercury Vapor Exposure. Cal. Dent. Ass J. pp 55-60, Oct. 1984.
Vimy, et al. Intra-Oral Air Mercury Released From Dental Amalgam. J. Dent. Res. Vol 64, 1069-1071, August 1985
Vimy, et al. Intra-oral Air Mercury. Estimation of Daily Dose from Dental Amalgam J. Dent. Res. Vol. 65:1072-1075. Aug 1986.
Emler et al. An assessment of mercury in mouth air. J. Dent. Res. Vol 64:247, IADR Abstract No. 652, 1985
Patterson et al, Mercury in Human Breath from Dental Amalgams, Bul Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 34:459-468, 1985

Recommended Levels Allowed in Industry:

EPA 6 mcg/day
US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 1.2 mcg/day
OHSA limits mercury vapor to 50 parts/cubic meter of air. People with several fillings have mercury vapor levels in their mouths as high as 50 to 150 mcg/cubic.
WHO and US EPA say that no amount of mercury exposure can be considered totally harmless.
WHO estimates 3-17 mcg/da exposure from fillings

Studies have consistently found modern high copper gamma-two amalgams have greater release of mercury vapor than conventional silver amalgams.

Pleva, “Mercury-A Public Health Hazard”, Reviews on Environmental Health 1994, 10:1-27
A. Berglund, “release of mercury vapor from different types of amalgam alloys:, J Dent Res., 1993, 72-939-946
D.B. Boyer, “Mercury vapour releases from dental amalgams”, Swed Dent J. 1994, 18:15-23.
LE. Moberg, “Long term corrosion studies of amalgams and casting alloys in contact”, Acta Odontal Scand 1985,
43:163-177.

Recent studies have concluded because of the high mercury release levels of modern amalgams, mercury poisoning from amalgam fillings is widespread throughout the population.

P. Kaub et al, Universitat Tubingen, Instit fur Organishe Chemie 1997
I. Berhard, et al, Tubingen Univ. Gynocological Clinic, Heidelberg, 1996
B. Windham, Anotated Bib. Of Exposure and Health Effects from Amalgam Fillings, 1997

Chewing gum, hot liquids, acidic liquids and foods, and teeth grinding can increase exposure by as much as 500%

Mercury comes out of fillings rapidly at first (50% over the first five years) and by 20 years all of the mercury is out.

Pleva J. Mercury Poisoning from Dental Amalgam. J. Orthomolecular Psychiatry. 1983.

This means that if a person receives four fillings weighing a total of 2 grams with 50% mercury, they have just been given one gram of mercury. The 500,000 mcg released over 5 years is about 275 mcg/day of mercury.

½ g of mercury will contaminate a 10 acre lake to the extent that a health warning would be issued by the government to not eat the fish. . . our bodies are mostly water.

Elec. Power Research Inst. EPRI Technical Brief: “Mercury in the Environment”, 1993, & EPRI Journal, April 1990 Windham, “Health Effects of Toxic Materials: An annotated Bib. 1996

Monkey Tests in Denmark

One year after monkeys were given dental fillings, mercury deposition was found in the spinal ganglia, anterior pituitary, adrenal, medulla, liver, kidneys, lungs, intestinal lymph glands, but no mercury was found in these organs of the control group.

There is a direct correlation between the content of mercury in the brain and the amount of amalgam fillings in the mouth.

Schiele R., et al. Studies on the mercury content in brain and kidney related to number and condition of amalgam fillings.
Inst. Ocup & Social Med. Univ. Erlingen-Nurnber. Symposium March 12, 1984
Friberg L. et al. Mercury in the central nervous system in relation to amalgam fillings. Lakartideningen 83(7):519-522.
Egglestom D. et al. Correlation of dental amalgam with mercury in brain tissue. J. Prosth Dent. 58(6) 704-707, Dec 1987

Alzheimer’s disease and Brain Mercury Levels

Autopsy studies of the brains of Kentuckians who died from AD have demonstrated “strikingly” high levels of mercury.

Wenstrup D. et al. Trace element imbalances in isolated sub cellular fractions of Alzheimer’s disease brains, Brain
Research 533:125-131, 1990
The Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Update Newsletter, Fall 1991, U. of Kentucky

Study of Blood Mercury Levels in Mental Hospital Patients

Elevated Levels of mercury, especially in those suffering depression

Gowdy J. et al. Whole Blood Mercury Levels in Mental Hospital Patients, Am J. Psyciat 1978

University of Calgary School of Medicine

Amalgam fillings with radioactive labeled mercury were placed in molar teeth on pregnant sheep. After two days it was found in maternal blood, amniotic fluid and fetal blood. After 16 days it was found in all analyzed tissues in mothers and babies, with the highest in the liver and pituitary gland.

Similar results were found with monkey specimens and resulted in a 50% impairment of kidney function after 30 days.

Japanese Research on Rats (Takahashi)

Mercury concentration in the fetal tissues tended to increase with the increasing number of amalgam fillings in the mother rats.

Studies have found a significant correlation between the number of amalgam fillings in the mother and the level of mercury in the fetus and older infants.

MJ Vimy, et al Distribution of Mercury Released from Dental Amalgam Fillings, Dept of Med, Amer. J. Phys. 1990
ND Boyd et. Al. “mercury from dental silver tooth finllings impairs sheep kidney function.” Am J. Phys. 261
L. Han et. Al., Distribution of mercury released from amalgam fillings into monkey tissue. FASEB J. 1990
WD Kuntz “Maternal and chord blood mercury background levels: Longitudinal dsurveillance:, Am J. Obstet and Gy. 1982
E. Lutz et al, “Concentrations of mercury in brain and kidney of fetuses and infants, J. of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 1996

University of Lund in Sweden

Pregnant monkeys exposed to mercury vapor experienced early abortion, premature birth, low birth weight and one prenatal death.

University of Uppsala in Sweden

Pregnant rats exposed to mercury during gestation produced offspring that deviated from normal behavior when compared to the controls.

Children and Mercury

A group of German children with amalgam fillings had urine mercury levels 4 times that of a control group without amalgams.

A. Schulte et al. “Mercury Concentrations in Children with and without. Amalgam Restorations., J Dent Res 73(4), 980 1994

A Norwegian group with average age of 12, there was a significant correlation between urine mercury level and number of amalgam fillings

ML Olsted et al. “Correlation between amalgam restorations and mercury in urine.” J. Dent. Res. 66(6): 1179-1182

Pregnant Women: Countries Warning Against Amalgams in pregnant women:
Sweden, German, Great Britain, Canada, France, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Australia, and Amalgam Manufacturers.

Cardiovascular system

The relationship between mercury from dental amalgam and the cardiovascular system
Compared to the control group, amalgam-bearing subjects had significantly higher blood pressure, lower heart rate, lower hemoglobin, and lower hematocrit. The amalgam subjects had a greater incidence of chest pains, tachycardia, anemia, fatigue, tiring easily, and being tired in the morning.

ept. of Physiology, College of Vet. Med. And Bio. Sci., Colorado State U. Fort Collins, Sci Total Environ, 1990

Skin Reactions:

“Result: The case presented indicates that the release of mercury from amalgam fillings is able to induce hypersensitivity reactions resulting in soft-tissue changes in the gingiva, buccal mucosa, tongue and on the skin of the back of the hands.”

Fardal O, Johannessen AC, Morken T., Gingivo-mucosal and cutaneous reactions to amalgam fillings. J Clin Periodontal. 2005 Apr;32(4):430-3.

“Partial or complete replacement of amalgam fillings will lead to a significant improvement in nearly all patients.”

Oral lichen planus and allergy to dental amalgam restorations., Laeijendecker R, Dekker SK, Burger PM, Mulder PG, Van Joost T, Neumann MH. Arch Dermatol. 2004 Dec;140(12):1434-8.

Autism:

1 in 150 children are autistic (CDC). Mercury is considered a possible contributing factor for Autism. Testosterone appears to potentiate mercury toxicity, whereas estrogen is protective.

Geier MR, Geier DA, The potential importance of steroids in the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders and other disorders involving mercury toxicity. Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(5):946-54.

Postnatal elimination of mercury is reduced in autistic children.

Holmes AS, Blaxill MF, Haley BE., Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. Int J Toxicol. 2003 Jul-Aug;22(4):277-85.

Treatment:

Mercury fillings are not necessary and should not be used. When removing mercury fillings a heavy stream of air and water, high volume suction and high volume air vacuum or oxygen should be used. Excellent ceramic (glass) materials which contain no metal are available for restoring teeth. Ceramics are superior in aesthetics and biocompatibility.

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