“The strongest and most convincing support we have for the safety of dental amalgam is the fact that each year more than 100 million amalgam fillings are placed in the United States. And since amalgam has been used for more than 150 years, literally billions of amalgam fillings have been successfully used to restore decayed teeth.”
The findings presented here suggest that mercury poisoning from dental amalgam may play a role in the etiology of many health disorders. A comparison of 125 health symptoms was made between a group of subjects with amalgams and a control group without amalgams. The 47 amalgam subjects reported a total of 45% (P = .0001) more health symptoms per subject compared to an age and sex matched control group of 48 nonamalgam subjects. Symptoms that were exhibited significantly more by the amalgam group were less happiness, less peace of mind, poorer reading ability, foul breath, tremors, colds and respiratory infections, heart or chest pains, heartburn, menstrual difficulties, sudden anger, depression, irritability, tiring easily, tiring in the morning, hay fever, trouble with night vision, and a metallic taste in mouth. Most of these symptoms can be explained by mercury toxicity. The data suggest that inorganic mercury poisoning from dental amalgam does affect health.
“The increase in new clinical materials with questionable biological properties and the corresponding increase in awareness in patients to health hazards from dental materials are two important problems of modern clinical dentistry. Based upon evidence from clinical research the hypersensitivity problems related to the use of silver amalgam and acrylic denture base materials are reviewed to define possible risk groups among dental patients. In silver amalgam therapy the main risk group is patients with contact lesions in the oral mucosa adjacent to the restorations, as this group exhibits a high frequency of skin sensitivity to mercury and other base materials in dental amalgam. Among denture wearers a corresponding risk group has been observed among patients with previous allergic diseases and burning mouth syndrome. In these cases a high incidence of skin sensitivity reactions to denture allergens has been observed, usually to methylmethacrylate monomer and formaldehyde. Some possible pathogenic mechanisms leading to a contact allergy of the oral mucosa in these patient groups are discussed.”
There has been much publicity about the harmful effects of mercury from dental amalgam which has resulted in a number of individuals having their amalgams removed. This paper reports on the research done on some of these people as well as presenting hypotheses on how amalgam mercury may be affecting health.
The cumulative survival rate (retention of both cusps) and the fracture pattern of 1639 endodontically treated posterior teeth were assessed in a retrospective study. All teeth had an MO/DO or an MOD cavity restored with amalgam without cuspal overlays. The 20-year survival rate of teeth with an MO/DO cavity was markedly higher than that of teeth with an MOD cavity. The lowest survival rate was found for the upper premolars with an MOD cavity: 28% of these teeth fractured within 3 years after endodontic therapy, 57% were lost after 10 years, and 73% after 20 years. Generally, the cusp most prone to fracture was the lingual one, and lingual fractures caused significantly more damage to the periodontal tissues than did facial or total crown fractures. The severity of periodontal damage increased with posterior location of the tooth. By far the most serious failures, irrespective of the cavity type, were found for the upper second molar, as 10 of 29 fractures led to extraction. It is concluded that amalgam, especially in MOD cavities, is an unacceptable material for restoration of endodontically treated posterior teeth if used without cuspal overlays.
“This study covers 22 patients who had multiple severe sensitivities in that they were extremely intolerant to inhalants (particles and vapours), ingestants (food and chemicals) and their own endogenous, normally occurring yeast (Candida albicans). The removal of dental mercury (“amalgam”) fillings was the single most effective method of improving the health of these patients after other methods were instituted, i.e., avoidance, hyposensitization and nutritional improvement.”
“Concentrations of 13 trace elements (Ag, Br, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe, Hg, K, Na, Rb, Sc, Se, Zn) in isolated subcellular fractions (whole brain, nuclei, mitochondria, microsomes) of temporal lobe from autopsied Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and norma controls were determined utilizing instrumental neutron activation analysis. Comparison of AD and controls revealed elevated Br (whole brain) and Hg (microsomes) and diminished Rb (whole brain, nuclear and microsomes), Se (microsomes) and Zn (nuclear) in AD. The elevated Br and Hg and diminished Rb are consistent with our previous studies in AD bulk brain specimens. Comparison of element ratios revealed increased Hg/Se, Hg/Zn and Zn/Se mass ratios in AD. Se and Zn play a protective role against Hg toxicity and our data suggest that they are utilized to detoxify Hg in the AD brain. Overall our studies suggest that Hg could be an important toxic element in AD. Whether Hg deposition in AD is a primary or secondary event remains to be determined.”
“Amalgam is the most extensively used implant material in dentistry. There have been no clinical trials of this substance and there are no epidemiological studies that allow any conclusions on the safety of amalgam fillings. Amalgam restorations continuously emit mercury vapour, which is absorbed in considerable quantities via the lungs. A comparison with dose-effect relationships, obtained in occupational studies, for certain effects on the kidneys and central nervous system (CNS), suggests that individuals with unusually high emission of mercury from amalgam fillings are at risk. It is unclear whether or not clinically significant effects could be expected. The limited sensitivity of available occupational studies, together with insufficient knowledge of possible host factors affecting resistance to mercury, implies that other more severe effects in susceptible individuals cannot be excluded. Information on long-term effects on organs other than brain or kidney is sparse. Animal studies suggest the possibility of immune system reactions to mercury, i.e. development of autoimmunity, that are not primarily dose-dependent, but rather depend on genetic susceptibility. From a toxicological point of view, amalgam is an unsuitable material for dental restorations.”
“The activity of the dentists generates nuisances due, for instance, to the use of biocontaminating aerosols and the emission of waste containing mercury. These two points are thoroughly reviewed in order to raise risk-awareness. As first and main victims of these nuisances, dentists must learn preventive methods and how to implement them. Anti-polluting methods are explained which are effective and easy to apply though sometimes not very well know and IDF recommendations are recalled.”
“In order to trace possible accumulations of mercury, three vervet monkeys received occlusal amalgam fillings, three others maxillary bone implants of amalgam, and three untreated monkeys served as controls. One year later all animals were sacrificed by transcardial perfusion with glutaraldehyde. Tissue sections from different organs were subjected to silver amplification by autometallography and analyzed at light and electron microscopical levels. It was found that amalgam fillings (total, 0.7-1.2 g) caused deposition of mercury in the following tissues: spinal ganglia, anterior pituitary, adrenal, medulla, liver, kidneys, lungs, and intestinal lymph glands. In monkeys with maxillary silver amalgam implants (total, 0.1-0.3 g), mercury was found in the same organs except for liver, lungs, and intestinal lymph glands. Organs from the three control animals were devoid of precipitate. To evaluate whether silver released from the corroding amalgam fillings added to the staining pattern, tissue sections were exposed to potassium cyanide prior to being autometallographically developed. This treatment removes all traces of silver, leaving mercury sulfide accumulation untouched. By comparing sections that had been exposed to cyanide with untreated parallels no difference was seen in the pattern confirming that mercury was the only catalyst present in the tissue. These results strongly support what has been suggested previously that dental fillings in primates cause absorption of mercury released from amalgam fillings through lungs and intestinal tract, and that depending on exposure mercury is distributed to most organs and will eventually be found in the central nervous system. The present data also show that silver released from the corroding filling is not absorbed.”