Doctor Scott Health Blog Experts in Holistic Sense
Dental Health’s Enormous Impact on Health
Silver fillings or mercury amalgams are an unsuspecting source for mercury poisoning. Other practices within dentistry also have significant health consequences.
The health of our mouth, teeth and jawbones have an enormous impact on our overall health; more than most of us would have ever imagined.
Many practices that are used and supported within traditional dentistry are dangerous and sometimes flat out toxic to your health. It’s important to educate yourself so you can make educated decisions; the best decisions for you, your family and your loved ones.
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This resource is extensive and exhaustive. All the information contained is critical to learn and understand but more than likely the length of this document will limit you to read only portions of it at a time.
Bookmark this site now because you will definitely want to have this resource available for future use; not only for yourself but for your family, friends and loved one’s. The information contained in this resource can help transform your life and help you avoid future health consequences as a result of poor dental health choices.
The following Dental Health Guide is a reproduction of a publication created by DAMS, Intl.
Table of Contents
- Intro – Mercury poisoning, other dental concerns, DAMS
- Amalgam Revealed as Mercury Vapor Source
- Water Fluoridation Primer
- DAMS Founders and Their Story/Background
- A History of Amalgam Fillings
- Symptoms of Chronic Mercury Toxicity, Amalgam Illness
- Industry Deception’s Role in Cigarette Smoking and Dental Amalgam Fillings
- Precautions for Safe Amalgam Removal; Choosing a Dentist
- Dental Quality Assurance – Pitfalls to Avoid
- Types of Dental Restorations (composites, ceramics, implants, dentures, bridges, etc)
- The Root Canal Procedure: Are Root Canals Safe?
- Testing for Mercury and Other Heavy Metals
- Fluoride is a Poison and Not A Nutrient
- Detoxification Methods and Ideas
- Contacts & Resources
Intro
Are You Suffering From Mercury Poisoning?
If you have mercury amalgams or “silver fillings,” you are more than likely suffering from symptoms of mercury poisoning. And if you aren’t now, it is merely a matter of time. Click here to skip down to Symptoms of Chronic Mercury Toxicity, Amalgam Illness.
Beware! Mercury Is Not Only Concern
Many have become aware that the mercury amalgams, also known as “silver fillings,” used in dentistry to fill cavities are composed of 50% mercury and release mercury vapor, resulting in toxicity to the host. The release of this mercury will slowly poison you and cause a number of mental/emotional effects, autoimmune disorders and health conditions. However, there are even more dangers within traditional dentistry including root canals, the battery effects of gold and other metal crowns, fluoride, et cetera.
DAMS, Intl.
DAMS or Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions is a tax-exempt, educational, non-profit organization, educating the public on the dental health connection to our overall health. You can request a physical copy of this guide by contacting DAMS via the information listed below. With every guide that is sent out, DAMS normally includes a list of knowledgeable dentists and other health care practitioners in your state or province. They also include a list of books and videos they offer for sale.
DAMS, Intl.
1043 Grand Ave, #317
St Paul, MN 55105
Talk line: 651-644-4572
Order line: 1-800-3116265
email: dams@usfamily.net
Doctor Scott Health is not a representative for DAMS, Intl and is not otherwise affiliated with their organization. This online reproduction of their comprehensive Dental Health Guide is merely attempting to provide their resource to a broader online community in order to educate more individuals and stimulate personal research into this aspect of health. We encourage you to reach out to their organization for the myriad of additional resources, services and products they offer.
Dental Health Guide
A Publication of DAMS, Intl
Copyright © February 2009
Amalgam Revealed as Mercury Vapor Source
Dental amalgam fillings (“silver amalgams”) are about half mercury. The remainder is copper, tin, silver and a trace of zinc. All of these metals are toxic in the form found in amalgam. Mercury is the most toxic metal we are being exposed to, being more toxic than lead, cadmium and even arsenic. Dental amalgams are generally the greatest source of mercury for adults who have them. A pregnant woman’s amalgams are likely the greatest mercury source for her developing fetus, the unborn baby. This is a huge impact on some babies.
The Invisibility of Mercury
The mercury vapor given off by the amalgam filling is both invisible and odorless, so it will go unnoticed. But use of a mercury vapor lamp that uses ultraviolet light can visibly show how mercury does vaporize off of the amalgam filling.
In the photo at left, we can see evidence of a smoke-like plume of mercury vapor being given off by an amalgam filling. Metal tongs are holding an extracted tooth that had a mercury amalgam filling placed in it 50 years ago. Just before the picture was taken, the filling had been warmed to body temperature and scratched by a knife. The result is a plume of mercury vapor coming off the amalgam’s surface.
The physics explanation is that the same wavelength of light that is given off by the mercury gas in a mercury vapor lamp is the same wavelength of light that is absorbed by any mercury that may be in the pathway of that light. The mercury vapor being given off from the amalgam filling is absorbing the UV light, thus blocking the light pathway and casting a shadow upon the fluorescent screen in the background. Certain human activities greatly increase the mercury vapor levels that are released;chewing food, brushing our teeth increase mercury vapor release from an amalgam surface about ten-fold. Grinding our teeth at night cause a larger mercury release all night long.
Water Fluoridation Primer
Water Fluoridation: the Public is forced to Drink Hazardous Industrial Wastes
The phosphate fertilizer plant shown above is located along Highway 41 along Hillsborough Bay, eight miles southeast of Tampa, Florida. It’s toxic air emissions include highly corrosive hydrofluosilicic acid, hydrogen fluoride, toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, and cadmium, and radioactive elements. As currently practiced, “water fluoridation” consists of capturing these toxic fluoride wastes, hauling them in special anti-corrosion lined trucks, and dumping these wastes into our municipal water supplies. Water fluoridation, begun in 1940 and is now known to have been based on fraudulent scientific paper published by Harold Hodge, PhD. (Details, see The Fluoride Deception, by Chris Bryson).
Fluoride compounds are quite toxic to teeth, gums, bones, connective tissue, the thyroid and other endocrine glands, the brain, and the immune system. The acidic waste fluorides from the phosphate fertilizer plants are known by toxicologists to be among the most toxic forms of fluoride.
Most of the world’s countries have rejected water fluoridation, in America two-thirds of Americans are forced to drink and bathe in “fluoridated” water. Increasingly, towns are voting against water fluoridation ballot measures and are sometimes able to repeal their town’s previous unwise adoption of water fluoridation. For more on fluoride symptoms, sources and solutions see Fluoride is A Poison and Not a Nutrient.
DAMS Founders
Louise Herbeck
Louise Herbeck overcame multiple sclerosis after her amalgam removal and detoxification
Even as a child, Louise Herbeck was beset by health problems; they had started following the placement of her first amalgam filling at age five.
Starting at age 38, her “walk through hell” began with tired spells, migraine headaches and allergies. By age 40, she had vision problems, making her work as an accountant difficult. There developed persistent cough, vertigo attacks and “a strange numbness in my arm and hand.”
Eventually she developed “tingling and prickling sensations that spread down my arms, legs and spine when I bent my head forward and down to my chest” and was given the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
“I saw a segment on the Dan Rather newscast on September 9, 1985, detailing the amalgam debate.” She studied books from the library on mercury poisoning; the symptoms fit her. Then she had her ten amalgam fillings replaced with white plastic fillings.
“Within a week my mental depression was gone! The attacks of vertigo left. The fatigue abated tremendously! I was able to stand for a long time and to walk with a steadier gait. I felt the best I had in twenty years.”
But soon her body launched into a strong detoxification phase; for two weeks she felt “an exacerbation of all symptoms. But within six weeks she was well enough to make a car trip to the southwestern states. She walked down into the Carlsbad Caverns; she walked the rim of the grand canyon.
Six months later she had a god crown removed, after learning that an amalgam filling could be under it. She then improved more, having greater physical stamina. With her numb arms and legs nearly normal, less and less tingling, able to climb stairs without help, and her lower back pain and muscle joint pain becoming manageable, she energetically began to educate others. Helping to found DAMS, she served as its first vice president.
Murlene Brake
In 1959, Murlene Brake began suffering diarrhea each month at the onset of her period. By 1984 she was experiencing loose-explosive bowel movements 5 to 20 times a day for at least 25 days a month.
In 1980 she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. She reacted adversely to all drugs and had to face her illness without medication.
“My condition became so bad that I had to abandon my career as a management consultant. The adverse impact on my life was terrible.”
She recalls “extreme fatigue, heart palpitations, esophageal spasms, kidney infections, muscle spasms, aches and pains that came and went, short term memory loss, mental confusion and a body that would not cooperate with my brain. Then depression reared its ugly head. I felt guilty all the time.” She was afraid her condition would eventually drive her husband away.
She was irritated and didn’t want to be bother one day when her daughter told her about a small community in Maryland whose water had been contaminated by mercury. “But Mom, it sounds like you!” Indeed, the mercury symptoms did sound eerily like many Murlene’s symptoms.
She researched information on mercury poisoning and found that “every symptom I had ever found that “every symptom I had ever suffered my entire life was on the list of symptoms caused by mercury toxicity. But how was I being exposed to mercury?
“In 1985, after moving to Albuquerque, I went in to have my teeth cleaned. The dentist, Bill Wolfe, told that I had 12 silver amalgam fillings that are 50% mercury. Aha!”
When she asked her gastroenterologist about the possibility of mercury poisoning from her dental amalgams, “he got up and walked out on me, saying ‘that dentist is just trying to get your money.'”
But a mercury allergy test sent her into a state of very severe depression, lasting for 48 hours!
Her last amalgam came out on December 6, 1985. Her worst symptoms stopped immediately and during the next two years her strength returned gradually. “I had been ill most of my adult life so it took a while to emotionally recognize that I was not sick, that I was healthy!”
In 1990 Murlene Brake incorporated DAMS INC in the state of New Mexico; the fledgling non-profit became international DAMS organization we are today. Murlene managed the DAMS office and editing the DAMS newsletter through the 1990’s. For about five years she also served as president of DAMS.
Now retired from DAMS work, Murlene’s example continues to inspire us as we carry on the cause to its final victory.
The stories of Murlene Brake, Louise Herbeck and other dental mercury survivors, are found in the book Solving the Puzzle of Mystery Syndromes; it is available from DAMS.
Professor Boyd Haley
Professor Boyd Haley, a biochemist at the University of Kentucky and inventor of the leading edge method of toxicity testing. His ALT testing lab is used by medical clinics and researchers world wide.
In his extensive research into mercury’s effects, Haley has found that mercury at low doses can cause the neurofibrillary tangles that mark Alzheimer’s disease. He has also shown that mercury from vaccines and dental amalgam fillings are plausibly linked to autism and other neurological disorders. Haley has testified before Congress and state legislators where he has called for bans on dental amalgam mercury fillings and thimerosal, the highly toxic mercury compound that is still used in most flu shots and in some other vaccines.
Professor Haley has also studied the toxicity of thimerosal, a highly toxic mercury preservative that is still used in most flue shots. Excessive mercury exposure through vaccinations and the mother’s dental mercury appears to be largely responsible for America’s explosion of autism, attention deficit disorders and other developmental disorders in its children.
A History of Amalgam Fillings
1819: A mercury-based dental amalgam filling was invented by the English chemist, Bell.
1826: The dental amalgam mercury filling was first used in England and France.
1830: Amalgam fillings were first used in the United States. Numerous harmful effects were soon widely reported.
1840: The American Society of Dental Surgeons denounced the use of amalgams due to concerns about mercury poisoning. Members of the society were required to pledge to avoid the mercury amalgam fillings. But many dentists continued using amalgams, since they were cheaper, faster and easier to place than gold materials.
1859: Determined to continue, the pro-mercury amalgam factions in America formed its own dental society, first called the National Dental Association; it later became the American Dental Association (ADA).
1926: Prominent German chemist Alfred Stock discovered that mercury was the source of his own health problems. After having his own amalgams removed, Stock then studied the health problems of many of his friends and advised them to have their amalgams removed. He studied the release of mercury vapor from amalgams and published his findings in over thirty scientific papers. Stock led an international movement to halt use of mercury amalgam filling.
1930’s: Stock’s laboratory and most of his records were destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, derailing the anti-amalgam mercury movement that he had led.
1957: Dr Karl O. Frykholm of Sweden published a study wrongly claiming that when saliva covers an amalgam filling, the mercury is no longer released. Ever since then, the ADA has cited Frykholm’s paper as a proof that amalgam fillings are stable and safe.
1973: An American dentist suffering from MS, Hal Huggins, DDS, met a Brazilian dentist, Olympia Pinto, at a conference in Mexico City. Dr. Pinto shocked Huggins by telling him that amalgam fillings are unstable and mercury from amalgams can trigger illnesses like Hodgkin’s disease and sickle cell anemia. Eventually Dr. Pinto sent Dr. Huggins many studies on amalgam research. After learning about the amalgam health issue, Huggins researched and wrote his first major book on the hazards of amalgams.
1979: Measurable Mercury coming from Amalgam. Gay and others at the University of Iowa reported a measurable release of mercury vapor from amalgam fillings; when the amalgams were stimulated by chewing, brushing or hot beverages the release was far greater. In 1981 Svare, at Ohio State, confirmed Gay’s findings.
1983: University of Calgary research dentist Murray Vimy, joined with Michael Ziff, an American dentist and author, to found the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) to educate dentists and other professional about evidence based dentistry. With his father, Sam Ziff, Michael Ziff went on to author books on such topics as mercury free dentistry and dental mercury detox.
1987: Nylander of Sweeden and Eggleston of California, did a similar autopsy study on victims of sudden, unexpected death. They confirmed a strong correlation between brain levels of mercury and the number of amalgam filling surfaces in the teeth.
1988: DAMS groups, formed in Albuquerque, Denver, Chicago and elsewhere, begin to educate the public.
1989: Dentists Poisoned. Nylander and Friberg published an autopsy study showing that mercury levels were much higher in the pituitary glands and the thyroid glands of dental staff as compared to a non-dentist control group. The mercury levels in the pituitary glands of the dental group was about forty times higher than that of the controls. Other studies found dentists to have a higher rate of irritability, depression and mood disorders. Dentists have a much higher suicide rate than other white collar professionals.
1990: Lorscheider and Vimy at the University of Calgary School of Medicine placed amalgam fillings with radioactive mercury into pregnant sheep and monkeys. After just 29 days after the placement of the mercury amalgams, the mercury was traced and found in the kidneys, the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the brain and many other parts of the body including the unborn fetus. For both the mother and the fetus, the highest mercury level was in the pituitary gland, explaining the clinical association between amalgams and depression and mood disorder.
1990 (December 16): The CBS television show Sixty Minutes, hosted by Morley Safer, and viewed by 30 million Americans, exposed the hazards of mercury amalgams; the host interviewed scientists Lars Friberg, Fritz Lorscheider, Murray Vimy and Boyd Haley. The program also exposed the biased attacks by state dental licensing boards on mercury free, holistic dentists. The ADA spokesman squirmed under cross examination by the host. This sort of dental amalgam expose was never repeated again on any TV network.
1993 (December): The largest German manufacturer of amalgam, Degussa AG, stopped making amalgam.
1994: Sweeden announced phase out of amalgam fillings, starting with pregnant women and children.
1994: Lorscheider, Vimy Pendergrass and Haley reported that elemental mercury vapor from amalgam fillings is toxic to brain neurons. Low-dose mercury causes the neurofibrillary tangles in the brain – regarded as a key marker of Alzheimer’s disease.
1994: A human autopsy study on babies who had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) was published by G. Drasch and others at the University of Munich in Germany. They found a strong correlation between the mercury levels in the brains and kidneys of the babies and the number of amalgam fillings in the mothers’ teeth. These findings were confirmed by another autopsy study conducted in 1996 by Lutz. These studies showed that mercury from a mother’s mercury amalgam fillings is typically the major source of mercury for the unborn child. The German government then acted to curb the use of amalgams in children and women of child bearing age.
1995: G. Mark Richardson, Ph.D., released a report for Health Canada, Canada’s chief health regulatory body, on mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings. He found that amalgams contribute about 50% or more of an adult’s mercury exposure and present an unacceptable hazard. Dr. Richardson advised Health Canada to ban dental amalgams; although it was unwilling to go that far, in 1996 Health Canada established guidelines for desntists cautioning against the use of amalgams in children, pregnant women, people with kidney disorders and other vulnerable people.
Symptoms of Chronic Mercury Toxicity
(Symptoms Associated with Amalgams)
Mental and Neurological
Inability to concentrate, insomnia, dizziness, migraine and other headaches, forgetfulness, emotional instability, irritability, unprovoked anger, fearfulness, anxiety (mercury depletes our magnesium stores), nervousness, panic attacks, exaggerated response to stimuli, electrical sensitivity, insomnia, tremors / trembling of hands, feet, lips, eyelids or tongue, ataxia (clumsiness), vision problems, hearing problems and deafness, shakiness or tremors, trembling, shivering, numbness, facial paralysis, loss of self confidence, shyness, withdrawal, timidity, easily embarrassed, electrical sensitivity, drowsiness, indecision, depression, mood swings, a feeling of being disconnected, suicidal tendencies, damages blood-brain barrier. Mercury binds with vitamin B1 and other B vitamins, causing symptoms of deficiency even though there is enough B vitamin in the diet. Mercury is considered a factor in causing multiple sclerosis, ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism. Mercury blocks glutamate re-uptake, thus making excitotoxins such as MSG and aspartame (a.k.a. Nutrasweet) even more dangerous. Mercury is more neurotoxic than lead, cadmium and arsenic; it multiplies the danger of other such toxins.
Oral Cavity
Bleeding gums, metallic taste, foul breath, burning sensation in the mouth, excessive salivation, ulcers in the mouth, leukoplakia (white patches), oral lichen planus, Bell’s palsy, gingivitis, burning sensation in mouth or throat. Amalgams tend to cause periodontal infection and they generate oral galvanism – electrical currents and voltages in the mouth, the currents being conducted by saliva, food and nerves.
Ears
Dizziness, vertigo and ringing in the ears
Eyes
Glaucoma and restricted or dim vision
Gastrointestinal
Yeast overgrowth, leaky gut, food sensitivities, indigestion, malabsorption, constipation, diarrhea, cramps, colitis (colon inflammation), Crohn’s disease (which includes severe diarrhea).
Immune Function, Autoimmune Disorders
Mercury depletes vitamin C, selenium and other antioxidants such as glutathione, weakening your immune function. Mercury damages many aspects of immune system, both innate and acquired immunity. Mercury is able to cross the blood brain barrier and in the brain and overly activate the microglia (the brain’s immune cells), causing more free radical damage and release of two damaging excitotoxins, glutamate and quinolinic acid. Mercury increases vulnerability to colds, flu, Lyme’s disease and other infections. Cancer is now believed to be Candida fungal infection and mercury strongly promotes Candida albicans infections. It is thus considered to be one of the triggers for cancer.
Bacterial, viral, fungal and mycobacterial infections are more difficult to overcome due to the effects of mercury and other toxic metals used in dentistry (tin, copper, silver zinc, nickel, chromium, palladium and cadmium). Periodontal infection can be caused by the presence of amalgam. Mercury contributes to all allergic disorders and to all autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s disease, hyperthyroidism and Grave’s disease. By depleting glutathione, the main antioxidant and detoxifier, mercury makes it harder to detoxify anything else; so, it is believed to be a factor in multiple chemical sensitivity.
Cardiovascular / Blood
Mercury interferes with the porphyrin pathways to the making of heme, which is needed for the production of hemoglobin, which carries the oxygen around the body in the red blood cells. Thus, mercury deprives the body of necessary energy, causing fatigue. Mercury also interferes with energy production in the mitochondria, the little energy furnaces found in all of our cells. Causes red blood cells to clump or stick together, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It causes abnormality in white blood cell counts (too high or too low), sluggish lymph flow making lymph vessels clog. Irregular heartbeat, heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat; feeble or irregular pulse; high or irregular blood pressure; pain or pressure in the chest, cholesterol damage and triglycerides. Idiopathic myocarditis. Mercury acts synergistically with other heavy metals – such as cadmium, lead, iron, tin and copper – multiplying their bad effects.
Endocrine
Mercury from amalgams concentrates in the hypothalamus and the pituitary, resulting in mood disorders, depression and disruption of the entire neuroendocrine system. Adrenal function is adversely affected, with mercury adding to stress levels and depleting vitamin C. Ovarian effects include stress responses and infertility problems. Mercury disrupts thyroid function in numerous ways. It disrupts T4 to T3 conversion, causing low thyroid function – hypothyroidism – whose symptoms include cold hands and feet, subnormal body temperature, weight gain, obesity, sluggish metabolism, slower intellect, depression, loss of libido. It can also cause hyperthyroidism (rapid heart beat, elevated temperature, high blood pressure) and Grave’s disease is a possible effect. Note: Fluoride also severely harms thyroid function and other endocrine function.
Reproductive
Reproductive disorders caused by mercury include lack of sperm mobility, toxic sperm, endometriosis (an autoimmune disorder), PMS, infertility, miscarriages, cleft palate and other birth defects, loss of libido (sex drive), poor sexual performance.
Bone and Connective Tissue
Both mercury and fluoride tend to damage the jawbone, causing jawbone disease and making it more likely that the patient will lose his/her teeth. They damage collagen throughout the body, harming bones and connective tissue and accelerating the aging process.
Depletion of Important Vitamins and Minerals
Mercury depletes vitamin C, the B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and other important minerals. It depletes glutathione, the body’s main antioxidant and detoxifier. The mercury poisoned person may suffer some malnutrition despite eating a good diet. Mercury tends to disrupt mineral transport, so the mineral levels seen in a hair test often do not reflect the levels in the body. Kidney function function is typically reduced and the kidney’s ability to regulate minerals and salts and to filter toxins may be impaired.
Kidney problems (possibly manifesting as pain in lower back), elevated porphyrins in the urine and liver function can also be impaired causing congestion, gall stones and a lessened ability to detoxify the body. Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple chemical sensitivity / environmental illness, joint pains, muscle weakness, wasting away with loss of weight, hypoglycemia, metabolic syndrome (syndrome X) and type II diabetes can also result.
Symptoms in Children
Autism, speech disorders, developmental delays and disorders; red, swollen and cold hands and feet, mental retardation, hyperkinesis, weakness, cleft palate and cerebral palsy.
During the 1990’s most children in the U.S. were exposed to an unprecedented, unsafe level of mercury exposure causing the ten-fold increase in autism in the U.S. Learning disabilities went up 30-fold; attention deficit disorders, childhood diabetes and asthma all soared.
Children who are genetically less able to excrete mercury plus those who had mothers with mercury amalgams and/or other mercury exposures were the ones most affected by vaccine injuries that resulted from unsafe vaccinations.
Industry Deception’s Role in Cigarette Smoking and Dental Amalgam Fillings
Cigarette smoking delivers cadmium, nickel, lead and other metal toxins, plus carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas. Amalgams deliver poisons too – mercury vapor, copper, tin, silver and zinc, all toxic. But insidiously, mercury vapor from amalgam is invisible and has no smell.
Cigarettes cause or promote heart disease, stroke, cancer and accelerate Alzheimer’s disease. Amalgams cause or promote all of these illnesses too and many other leading causes of death including depression and suicide.
The cigarette industry still profits from cigarettes and defends their sale despite the scientific evidence. It uses cleverly phrased public relations statements and ads.
The dental industry continues to profit from amalgam use. With the ADA as the front man, amalgam manufacturers stay in the background. ADA uses cleverly worded statements and articles to mislead the public. It controls dental school education where dental students are miseducated about the hazards of amalgams.
Side stream cigarette smoke damages the bystander who inhales the smoke, causing adverse health impacts.
Mercury vapor exhaled in the breath of an amalgam “smoker” exposes others who are close by, especially when the person with amalgams is chewing food, gum or drinking beverages. Among the biggest victims are dentists and dental assistants. Over time, they will likely be harmed by placing amalgams and even more by replacing the amalgams unsafely on a routine basis.
The cigarette smoker always benefits by quitting and the sooner the better. No special testing of the smoker is needed to decide that stopping is wise and beneficial. After all, it is just a matter of tie before smoking’s adverse effects will have obviously harmed the smoker.
Tests indicate that the person who has amalgams always receives an unhealthy mercury burden from having the amalgams; it is unavoidable. Adverse effects tend to escalate until they become evident – although often physicians will try to treat or suppress the symptoms. As with smoking, amalgams will shorten life and harm health in numerous ways.
The smoker who has quite will need to detoxify over a period of years, not just for a few months. So also, the person who has replaced amalgams may need to detoxify over a period of years, not just a few months. So also, the person who has replaced amalgams may need to detoxify over a period of years. However, some improvements may be noticed immediately after amalgam removal because the electrical stresses due to the battery effect disappear when the metals are removed. Once amalgam free, the person often feels more relaxed and able to sleep. A good diet, supplements in proper form and amount and a healthy lifestyle can help that patient to detoxify and recover.
Precautions Needed for Amalgam Removal; Choosing a Dentist
Dental consumers should call prospective dentists and screen them. The dentsists on our lists vary in terms of training, equipment and thinking, so you have a choice to make!
Here is a checklist that can be used for screening prospective dentists:
Are you a holistic dentist?
Are you entirely amalgam free? (Answer should be “no,” with no exceptions).
Do you replace amalgams for health reasons?
The answer should be “yes,” or “yes, at the doctor’s request.”
Precautions to protect the patient during amalgam removal:
The patient takes a couple of teaspoons of activated charcoal dissolved in water just before going into the dental visit where amalgam fillings are being replaced. If the dentists don’t provide the activated charcoal, the patient can provide his / her own. The activated charcoal helps bind up any amalgam particles that are accidentally swallowed.
A special drill bit is used to shatter or slice the old amalgam fillings into big chunks, rather than grinding away at filling. A continuous stream of water is sprayed onto the drill bit in order to keep it cool while cutting the amalgam filling.
A high volume evacuation system next to the patient’s teeth is used to remove mercury vapor and amalgam particles.
The Clean-up suction tip, which has an enclosure that fits around the tooth being worked on. A suction arm on the Clean-up draws amalgam particles and mercury vapor away from the tooth.
Or as an alternative to Clean-up, a rubber dam is draped over the patient’s face in order to provide a physical barrier to prevent amalgam particles from going down into the mouth and down the throat. Since mercury vapor is able to diffuse right though the dam, it is desirable to also use a saliva ejector behind the dam to evacuate air that may contain mercury vapor. After the amalgams are out, remove the dam and thoroughly rinse the patient’s mouth before placing the new restorations.
After an amalgam removal, rinse and spit using activated charcoal stirred into the rinse water to help bind and remove fine metal particles that are in the mouth.
Cover the patient’s face with a surgical drape or other barrier. Use goggles to protect the eyes and drapes to cover the clothing.
Mercury vapor and fine amalgam particles can build up in the room, so we provide the patient with a positive pressure breathing device such as a nitrous oxide nose hood (but using clean air (“medical air”) rather than nitrous oxide). The staff protects itself also, by wearing positive pressure masks with a mercury rated filter cartridge.
A negative ion generator filtration system for the removal of metallic vapors and sub-micron particles from the air. Alternately, the dentist can use a high volume air vacuum system that draws air away from the patient’s mouth (patient holds the end of the vacuum hose under her chin) and the vacuum hose is vented to outside of the building.
Do you use fluoride treatments? (Answer should be, “no, never.”)
Do you belong to the IAOMT, the Holistic Dental Association or other educational group? (Answer should be, “Yes,” with specification of one or more of these academies or institutes. If no academy memberships where did the dentist learn about the techniques and equipment of holistic dentistry?
Do you work with the patient to use the results of bio-compatibility testing? What testing methods do you routinely use? For example, do you do electro-dermal screening or collaborate with someone who does?
Other questions that may apply: Do you use the kind of dental materials I prefer (for fillings, inlays, crowns, partials, etc.)? Will you work with me on bio-compatibility testing? Can you do vitality testing on teeth that I suspect may be dead? Are you willing and able to extract root canaled teeth? If not are you willing to refer me to a specialist who will do that? Do you extract teeth? If so, do you follow a special protocol for safe tooth removal? Do you do full dentures? Partial dentures? Can you do a panorex x-ray and/or a Cavitat scan to check me for jawbone disease (“osteonecrosis”)? Do you minimize the use of x-rays? If so, how? Do you treat children? Do you do evaluation and treatment of periodontal (gum) problems? Can you help me improve my oral hygiene with a self-care program for maintaining health gums? Do you help patients with snoring, sleep apnea or airway obstruction? Do you accept my dental insurance plan/ my medicare plan? Do you offer a payment plan or work with some kind of finance plan? What do you charge for your initial exam (a bell-weather for how expensive this dentist is)?
You may also call DAMS to discuss the dentists who are listed with DAMS – their specialties, background and expertise.
Dental Quality Assurance – Pitfalls to Avoid
Quality means avoidance of dental amalgam fillings, which are half mercury, all poison. Undercuts in preparing teeth for amalgams always damage the teeth. Amalgams also crack teeth and stain them. Placement of an amalgam filling inflicts much more harm to a tooth’s structure than placement of a composite filling would do to fix the same problem. When a composite is used, only the actual decayed tooth area needs to be removed. The composite is them placed into the cavity hole, however irregularly shaped it is: the composite will bind to the tooth and actually make it stronger.
In contrast, an amalgam does no bind to the tooth; it just corrodes into place and requires a large “undercut” all around the cavity space to create a hole space that is broad at the base, in order the amalgam to hold into place and not pop out,. This large undercut greatly weakens the tooth and makes it more likely that the tooth will need a crown and will die sooner. Amalgam also stains the tooth, as its poisonous metals migrate into the tooth, discoloring it. Since metals expand with temperature increases, amalgams tend to crack the teeth, also leading to crowning or to the death of the tooth. This is why cosmetic dentists never use amalgams.
Avoiding electrical effects. The presence of amalgam fillings creates a battery effect and the voltages produce electrical currents that further stress the body and disrupt the body’s nerve function and its natural energy flow. If there are other metallic materials present at the same time (e.g. stainless steel or gold) there will be an even greater battery effect, causing even more electrical stress and more release or mercury from the amalgam fillings.
Safety precautions are the key to quality dental amalgam filling removal. Since dental students are generally not warned about the hazards of amalgam filling, they are also not adequately warned about the hazards in amalgam removal. Whether the amalgams are being replaced for health reasons or just for routine replacement of an old, deteriorated filling, the friction and the heat of the drill produce a huge amount of mercury vapor and fine amalgam particles that are easily swallowed and inhaled into the lungs. This often results in a major setback in health. See the previous page for a description of precautions needed for safe amalgam removal.
Amalgam removal to be preceded by necessary health precaution. Some people are too sick and fragile for amalgam removal. Since amalgam removal involves some additional mercury exposure even under the best of protocols, the patient should be evaluated for readiness to deal with the additional toxic insult. The typical preparations that may be called for are 1) making the body’s pH more balanced (it usually is too acidic and needs to be shifted in the more alkaline direction, towards pH of about 7.46; 2) improving the organs of elimination, the kidneys and the liver/intestines, using liver and colon cleanses, supplements such as silymarin for the liver, cranberry juice or herbal cleanses for the kidneys; 3) healing up leaky gut and killing chronic yeast infections, using foods and supplements, 4) resolving constipation by the use of foods, supplements, 4) resolving constipation by the use of foods, supplements, moderate exercise and drinking more water.
Cure or prevent periodontal disease (infection around the teeth). Most adults have some degree of gum problems, such as sore or bleeding gums. When the problem is more severe, breath becomes foul and teeth can become loose and eventually fall out. Periodontal infection means infection around the teeth. A variety of different bacteria and sometimes even amoebae can be identified under a microscope are, our goal should be to kill them using safe, natural methods. Periodontal disease can cause major health problems including heart disease and diabetes. In addition to getting professional treatments when necessary, we control periodontal disease and gum problems by brushing flossing and irrigating around our teeth every day. Ask your holistic dentist or dental hygienist about flossing, irrigation and other steps you need to maintain a clean and health mouth. Note: safe amalgam removal and avoidance of fluoride should also help our gum health, as studies show that amalgam fillings and fluoride both promote periodontal disease.
Quality mean avoidance of nickel, as found in the typical “stainless steel.” Stainless steel is used in the cheapest crowns (“caps”) and in bridgework, dentures or the metal base under a porcelain veneered crown. Stainless steel is cheap but it comes with a high price, from a health point of view. Stainless steel generally contains nickel, chromium and cobalt; these are all toxic metals in their elemental form. Nickel is a very toxic metal that frequently causes allergy; it is also a neurotoxin (toxic to brain and nerves) and a carcinogen (causes cancer). The other two metals, chromium and cobalt are essential trace minerals but are toxic in the metallic form used in dentistry; they too are implicated in problems such as allergy and cancer. As with the other metallic materials, stainless steel adds to the electrical stresses and if amalgams are present in the mouth at the same time the stainless steel increases the battery effect and increases the release of mercury from the amalgam fillings.
Quality Materials: Gold Alloys are not Necessarily the Best. Gold in dentistry always comes as an alloy, never as pure gold. What is mixed in with the gold? The hold alloy may include other metals such as copper (toxic), palladium (toxic), platinum (somewhat toxic). Some small fraction of gold users become allergic to the gold itself, with serious consequences; those who become allergic to gold may develop serious neurological problems and become suicidal.
Gold materials should never be put into a mouth that has amalgam fillings for several important reasons: 1) the mercury from the amalgams contaminates the gold, putting the patient farther away from the goal of becoming mercury free; 2) the presence of gold with amalgam greatly adds to the battery effect, causing more mercury release from the amalgam surfaces; the result is generally a more severe mercury poisoning. This stronger battery effect also increases the symptoms caused by electrical stresses.
Metal materials in Dentistry can generally be avoided, so that the metallic exposures and the electrical effects can be minimized. Nowadays, there is no reason to use gold for crowns, inlays or onlays; there are much better, non-metallic materials, namely ceramics or composite based indirect restoration materials. These non-metal materials act more like semi-conductors, that is, like natural teeth, they don’t conduct current or temperature very well. Metallic materials can be avoided in any dental restoration materials – dentures, partial dentures, bridges, etc. Metallic materials disrupt that natural energy flow in the body; all energy meridians flow through teeth and the energy flow and the biological circuits are disrupted by the placement of metallic parts anywhere in the body.
Ceramic and composite materials may contain some metals nut the ceramic and composite materials do not behave like metals; they do not release their metals as readily as a metallic material does. Indirect restorations are especially stable and safe since they have been baked in a laboratory for 22 hours. They take more time and skill to place and are more expensive but for the patient in fragile health, the extra time and money may be worth it.
Pick the Minimal Restoration the Works and Avoid Unnecessary Crowning. When a tooth is crowned the crown covers the whole visible part of the tooth. This is a drastic step. To prepare for the crown, the enamel from the entire visible part of the tooth is removed and tooth is necessarily quite weakened; because of this weakening, it is 20% more likely to die sooner – in a few years rather than much later in life. Crowns may look great cosmetically speaking when they are all done but the perfect appearance of a crowned tooth covers the fact that underneath the living tooth is weakened. In a healthy tooth there is a natural fluid flow from the soft pulp inside, through the dentinal tubules, to the enamel surface on the outside. The tooth cannot cleanse and nourish itself in this natural manner when its natural fluid flow is blocked off. So, it is best that a dentist use the smallest tooth restoration that does the job. If a cavity isn’t too large, a filling can usually do the job. A larger cavity may be better handled by an inlay, a restoration that is prepared in a lab from a casting that the dentist makes from the cavity space. If a large amount of the biting surface needs to be covered, a larger version of an onlay called an onlay, may be still be adequate. If neither an inlay nor an onlay suffice then and only then should a crown be used; crowning should be the last resort.
Sealants: Safety and Effectiveness are in Question. Sealants are used on the grooved and pitted surfaces of a child’s tooth to prevent tooth decay. But at the time of placing the sealant, the child gets an exposure spike of Bisphenol A (BPA), which has estrogenic effects on children. BPA is implicated in precocious puberty [early puberty] in girls and delayed puberty in boys. Parents may wish to avoid the unnecessary BPA exposure by not using sealants, emphasizing good diet and proper oral hygiene instead. Those who opt for use of sealants can minimize the BPA exposure by vigorous mouth rinse and spit for a minute or so after each sealant is placed and by choosing a brand of sealant that has a lesser release of BPA.
Quality Cements and Avoiding Toxic Cement Bases and Cavity Liners. Cavity liners are used to seal the tooth’s dentin from microorganism and irritants used in the restorative process. Cement bases are applied in a much thinner layer before a crown or other restoration is used to protect the tooth’s pulp from heat, electrical shock and chemical irritation.
But some cement bases and some cavity are highly toxic: the following products are described in scientific papers are being very toxic: Dycal, Life and Sealapex (cement bases that contain toluene, a nerve toxin and sulfonamide which causes an allergic/toxic reaction. Zinc oxide materials, including zinc oxide eugenol, have also been found to cause skin irritation and sensitization. Products in this category include Fynal, IRM and Sultan U/P.
Dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienists need to be well protected from mercury poisoning. They are especially at risk when replacing old amalgam. A Swedish study found 8 times higher mercury levels in the thyroid glands and 44 times higher levels of mercury in the pituitary glands of the dental personnel as compared with the control group. Dentists have showed significantly higher levels of suicide than comparable white collar professionals; they have a high rate of mental and neurological disorders.
Full dentures and partial dentures may contain cadmium, to make them pink. Cadmium is a very toxic metal. To avoid cadmium a dentist may use plain uncolored nuylon or plastic materials for the dentures of use a pink coloring agent that does not use cadmium. Vitalon 1060, Cadmium Free/Tissue Tone 99 is made by Fricke Labs. See resource list on the back page.
Tooth implants can contribute to jawbone disease and autoimmune disorders. The pros and cons of tooth implants are discussed on page 16.
Root canal treated teeth (aka “root canals”) can be toxic and are prone to infection.
Jawbone disease, including jawbone cavitations may cause facial pain and/or general health problems. This bone disease all too common and yet so often undetected, involves dead regions in the jawbone, causing a list of possible symptoms similar to what is listed for toxic root canals. Our immune system cannot fight off an infection in a jawbone region that is dead, as there is no blood flow to bring in the white blood cells that fight off infection. Such a dead region also serves as a toxic dumping ground for mercury and other heavy metals; the body has a hard time clearing toxins out of any part of the body that has poor blood flow or impaired nerves.
There are actually different types of jawbone disease; we will discuss here what are called “jawbone cavitations” or more technically known as “ischemic osteonecrosis.” Osteo means bone, necrosis means dead and ischemic means that blood flow is blocked. The many causes of jawbone cavitations include: amalgams, toxic crowns including toxic gold alloys, fluoride, toxic bridgework, toxic, infected root canaled teeth and improper extraction of teeth.
If the patient takes bisphosphonate drugs such as Fosamax and Actonel to prevent osteoporosis bone problems may get worse! These drugs, especially if taken long term, can greatly add to the damage being done to the jawbone. The bisphophonates kill the osteoclasts, a type of bone cell that is needed to clean out old, bad bone materials so it can be replaced with better bone. Beware of the bisphophonate drugs!
Most dentists are unaware and poorly educated about how common the cavitation problem is, how to test for it, diagnose it and treat it. To make matters worse, state dental boards have recently been on the attack against leaders in the field of jawbone disease diagnosis and treatment. We consumer badly need more dentists who are skillful in this are of dentistry and we need to establish and defend their right to practice.
Treatment of the problem in its advanced state (e.g. an actual hole in the bone) usually involves surgical removal of diseased areas so as to allow the regrowth of health bone. Less advanced stages of this disease (lowered bone density) may be reversed using enzyme supplements such as Nattokinase and can be assisted by light therapies involving use of low level laser therapy or infrared light therapy such as with the anodyne.
The panorex x-ray, giving a panoramic view, from one corner of the mouth to the other, is a standard tool to search for jawbone disease problems. But it is easy to miss the full picture of a jawbone cavitational disease. An additional too, the Cavitat, may be used to give a more sensitive picture of bone density problems and the presence of actual holes in the jawbone. The Cavitat uses ultrasound to image the density using color coded images that are displayed on a computer monitor. The diagnosis and treatment of jawbone cavitations is a specialized area within holistic dentistry. Jawbone cavitation surgery requires specialized training and the technique and experience of the dental surgeon is important to the success of a cavitation surgery. You may call DAMS for assistance in finding a practitioner knowledgeable in the area of jawbone disease.
Improper tooth extraction sets the stage for jawbone disease. With just an extra ten or fifteen minutes of clean-out work, the dentist can do what is needed to avoid leaving an infected site that won’t heal or fill in properly. That extra few minutes of work helps protect your jawbone health and helps you avoid later loss of other teeth, facial pain and/or other symptoms of jawbone disease. You may also avoid the expensive tests and surgical expense that would be needed later to recover from osteonecrosis of the jawbone. After the tooth is extracted the dentist should thoroughly clean out the periodontal ligaments that anchor the tooth to the bony socket. He should remove a layer, 1 mm or more, of the bony socket in order to get down to healthy bone. The periosteum, the outer layer of the bone, should be fully removed. Unless it is removed it will block the growth of the new blood vessels needed to produce new bone growth. Do not pack the extraction site with artificial bone, bovine bone or human.
Types of Dental Restoration
A dental filling is the most common type of dental restoration; it is used to fill a hole or “cavity” in a tooth to repair itself. A filling is an example of a “direct” restoration material because it is created, layer by layer, in the tooth hole or cavity space that is to be filled. There are various dental filling materials available for making the filling: amalgam (which consists of mercury along with copper, tin, silver and perhaps a little zinc), gold (usually an alloy containing copper, palladium, and/or platinum along with the gold) and the composite (white plastic) filling.
The white plastic composite today is the usual filling of choice for “holistic” or “biological” dentists. Composites are so called because they are composed of very different things that are mixed together in a such a way that the material van be shaped yet will harden into the desired shape and size. They are made up of: 1) plastic resin, which is fairly soft and pliable, 2) filler materials, which are hard solids such as particles of milled quartz or glasses and 3) a coupling agent that promotes adhesion between the hard filler particles and the softer resin that needs to bind the filler particles. There are roughly a thousand composites materials that dentists have to choose from. The plastic resin is pretty much the same in all of them and they differ from one another because of the many different choices of fillers that can be used. Before the composite material is applied in layers, the etching and bonding agents are applied to the prepared cavity. Then as the layer of composite material is laid down in the cavity space, a blue “curing” light is used for a certain number of seconds to activate the coupling agent and cause it to make the filler materials bind to the plastic resin, causing the whole composite material to thicken and harden. The success and safety of the composite filling depends on the skill and good technique used by the dentist who is placing it.
When the tooth is chipped or has a large cavity, the usual filling approach may not be adequate. For these major tooth problems the dentist can use an indirect restoration – something that will be created in a mold in a dental lab. The dentist will make a wax impression from the patient’s mouth and send that to the lab in order to specify the exact shape of the restoration material that is needed. After discussing the possible choices with the patient, the dentist will tell the dental lab what material it is supposed to make the indirect restoration out of.
CEREC. Some dentists have a machine for making the crowns in their own office. By using this technology and the material called CEREC that goes along with it, they can avoid needing to send the crown impression to a dental lab to get the crown made. The CEREC crown is made and placed all in one visit. However, if you use a CEREC crown, you are limited in what materials are used and the CEREC materials may not be compatible with you; they are said to be difficult to remove if that is attempted later on in time.
There are actually three types of indirect restorations: inlays (used for fixing the typical medium or larger sized cavities), onlays (used when the tooth has been fractured or severely weakened and which cover the entire biting surface) and crowns (the largest tooth restoration, covering all sides of the tooth as well as the end). The choices of materials is the same for all of these: ceramics, porcelain over a metal base, composites and gold alloys. Within all these categories there are many products to select from. The trend today is for the holistic dentist to choose from a solid ceramic or a solid composite material, with the selection aided by bio-compatibility testing.
The inlay can be thought of as a superior but more expensive alternative to a filling. An inlay takes more time, more skill on the part of the dentist and will cost perhaps three times as would a large filling would to fill the same cavity. They can be a good choice for the chemically sensitive patient, one whose health is fragile, because the inlay has been naked in a lab for a long time at high temperatures. It should last 2 to 3 times as long as a composite filling. The same considerations apply for its larger cousin, the onlay. A good rule of thumb for choosing between an inlay, an onlay or a crown for a given tooth is to choose the smallest tooth restoration that is adequate to cover the problem area. If an inlay covers the problem, then choose an inlay. Otherwise, choose an onlay if that can cover the tooth’s problem. Only it nether an inlay or an onlay will not suffice do you resort to using a crown. Why? Because crowning weakens the tooth and the crowned tooth has a 20% chance that it will die. To prepare a tooth for crowning, it needs to have the enamel removed on all sides and that weakens the tooth and takes away much of its natural structure. So avoid use of crowns purely for cosmetic purposes.
Sealants. Sealants are a plastic resin based material used to fill the pits and grooves of the back teeth as a preventative measure. We are concerned about the Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure that placement of sealants in children produces. Please refer to our discussion on pages 10 and 11.
How to tell if a tooth is really dead? The dentist touches the tooth with a metal probe, applying an ever-increasing electrical voltage to it; the increasing electrical voltage to it; the patent holds an electrical terminal in her hand at the same same time. If the tooth is alive, the nerves in the tooth will conduct the electrical current and she feels some pain, so she signals the dentist. If the tooth is dead, then the nerves in it are dead and she feels no pain.
If the a tooth tests as dead, it is probably infected and becoming more and more toxic inside and around the tooth. An abscessed tooth is one that has decaying tissue down in the bone below/above it. The dentist has to act fast to deal with the problem of a dead tooth so that the disease process doesn’t spread. the two choices are 1) remove the tooth, thoroughly cleaning out the diseased, abscessed areas, scraping down to the healthy bone or 2) perform a root canal treatment. The choice is subject to debate; we discuss the root canal treatment option on page 17.
Once the tooth is extracted (see proper protocol, page 12), the extraction needs a few months for the site to heal and for the bone to fill in solidly. Then, unless the tooth was the third molar (wisdom tooth, the last one in the back) it is usually replaced with some kind of a false tooth, in order to allow better chewing and to keep opposing teeth and adjoining teeth from shifting out of place.
The choices are: 1) a tooth implant, 2) a bridge and 3) a removable partial denture or if no upper or lower teeth remain, the full set of teeth is provided – called a full denture.
A bridge (“permanent bridge” or “fixed bridge”) is a dental device that holds one or more false tooth that is suspended on a bridge that is supported, on each end, by the adjoining teeth. Therefore, a bridge can only be used to replace one or two missing teeth that have good remaining teeth on each side of the gap. The bridge-holding teeth must be crowned and the crowns have the bridge end built onto the top of them in order to hold the false tooth.
Traditionally, bridges have been out of metal (e.g. stainless steel or titanium) in order to have the necessary strength to carry the load. Nowadays, holistic dentists are using bridges made of composite or ceramic materials reinforced with Kevlar fibers. To avoid the damage done by crowning the abutment teeth, more conservative inlay preparations are done on the abutment teeth. Such a bridge can be more “bio-compatible ” and can avoid the damage to the abutment teeth that would be done by crowning them.
A tooth implant is more expensive and complicated option, taking longer than bridge or a partial. While we do not encourage implants, we will describe here what they involve. After the tooth is extracted, the site needs to heal up for a couple of months, so that the bone is strong and healthy. Then, in the first surgical stage, a hole going down into the jawbone, where a metal implant “fixture” is planted, to play the role of a tooth root that will serve as a base for the artificial tooth to be attached later. Most often, the fixture is made of titanium or titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy. The metal implant fixture is left along for four to six months, allowing it to heal and become “osseointegrated” – bound tightly to the bone around it. Following the lengthy healing period, a second surgery is done in which the implant is uncovered and exposed to the mouth through a healing cap that is placed to ensure proper healing of soft mucosal tissue through which a collar or “abutment” will be placed. In a final surgical step, the healing cap is removed and replaced by a metal collar (abutment) that is screwed into the fixture. The top of the abutment sticks out into the mouth space and actual false tooth (“prosthesis”) will be screwed or cemented onto it.
A tooth implantation process takes almost a year, in expensive and requires great expertise on the part of the dentist. Are the possible benefits worth the risks? One selling point is that implants can be done at any site in the mouth, even sites where bridges are not feasible because of a lack of suitable abutment teeth. With an implant, there is no need to damage or destroy good enamel on two adjoining teeth the way a bridge usually does. In theory, implants can be mechanically strong and last for many years if the fixture is solidly rooted in the jawbone the way a health natural tooth root would be.
But there are risks. For one, the bite can be too hard; the fixture – collar – tooth system lacks the periodontal ligament shock absorbing cushion that a natural tooth has. Secondly, the gums do not snug up to an implant the way they do with a natural tooth, leaving an opening for bacteria to travel down into the jawbone. Thirdly, patients who have lost teeth may not have properly healthy jawbones for holding the implant. Smokers, diabetics, people with osteoarthritis, periodontal disease or jawbone disease are poor risks for implants.
Fourthly, there is the concern over the implantation of the titanium or titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy into a jawbone. It raises allergy and toxicity concerns. The titanium allow is used instead of pure titanium in order to decrease the susceptibility to corrosion and to improve the material’s strength. But vanadium and (especially) aluminum, need to be avoided because of toxicity concerns. Even titanium can cause allergic reaction in a significant fraction of the population, warns immunology professor Vera Stejskal. Hal Huggins, DDS, MS adds “I have personally seen multiple sclerosis stimulated within one week of placing titanium implants. The compatibility test showed titanium to be compatible, yet it caused MS.”
Frank Jerome, DDS, writes that implants are not really a life long solution. Ten years may be a typical implant life. Once they fail, the implant option cannot be used again at the same site.
Anchors for dentures. Anchors for full dentures are basically implants extending down from the denture teeth into the jawbone, to keep the dentures from sliding around. But the arguments against tooth implants apply to these anchors.
A partial denture (“partial”) consists of the replacement tooth attached to adjoining teeth and gums. The partial can be removed for part of the day and is always removed when the patient is sleeping. Holistic dentists now are able to avoid the use of stainless steel (with its toxic metals chromium, nickel and cobalt) for the clasp. The clasp can be made of plastic or nylon and the use of cadmium pink coloring is avoided.
Every partial is custom made to fit the patient’s mouth and existing teeth and there are many configurations possible depending on which teeth are missing and which remain.
Holistic dentists often ask the lab to use a flexible nylon material Lucitone FRS or perhaps acrylic or nylon Flexite MP to make the partial. Such a non-metal parital may not last quite as long as one with metal clasps, but is considered to be a safer, more bio-compatible choice.
Full dentures replace a full set of teeth. The denture base – that fits down over the gums – should be made out of acrylic that is cadmium free. Vitalon 1060, cadmium free / Tissue tone 99, made by Fricke International, 800-537-4253, is a denture popular with some holistic dentists who use EDS (electro-dermal screening)
Orthodontics, braces. The stainless steel material traditionally used for braces contains nickel, raising concerns for toxicity and allergy, as discussed on page 10. Holistic dentists avoid the problems of the stainless steel by using low-nickel metal braces or plastic appliances (“Invisalign”).
When teeth are crowded, traditional orthodontists often extract some teeth to make room for other teeth; but this may lead to narrowing of the dental arch and less tongue space, snoring and even sleep apnea. So, it is far better to avoid such extractions, with the dentist instead using appliances to widen the arch, making room for all the natural teeth.
Prevention of crooked, crowded teeth in children lies with a pregnant woman getting adequate protein, vitamins, minerals and avoiding of sugar and other refined foods.
Root Canal Treatments: Are Root Canaled Teeth Safe?
To get to the inside of a dead tooth, the dentist drills an access hole into the end of the tooth (the chewing surface) until the drill sinks into the softer core of the tooth, known as the “pulp chamber.” That pump chamber is where the main nerve supply to the tooth is and where the blood vessels have been. This soft are extends down into the root (or roots – some teeth such as molars have several roots) where it is called the root canal. All of pulp and root canal areas are cleaned out, with all the debris removed. Thin files are then inserted into the pulp chamber and the root canals in order to straighten and smooth their walls, making them easier to fill. Sterilizing agent are used to kill all bacteria. Finally, the dentist fills the pulp chamber and root canals with gutta percha (which usually contains cadmium or mercury salts (beware)), or some other material that has anti-bacterial properties.
Issues and concerns regarding root canals. The dentist can miss cleaning out an entire root canal, especially in molars, which have extra root canals; “accessory canals” which branch off of the main root canals too mall to be cleaned out. The soft tissue inside then rots.
Infection in the dentin surround the pulp chamber and root canals is tooth dentin; the dentin, which makes up most of the tooth structure, is permeated with large numbers of microscopic sized tubules and they are mostly anaerobic bacteria, which far more toxic than regular bacteria.
The periodontal ligaments that anchor the tooth to the bony socket is often infected and it remains infected despite what is done in a root canal treatment.
Symptoms. The infection and its waste product toxins can travel from the too and its surrounding diseased tissue to infect and inflame distant parts of the body such as the heart (endocarditis), the kidneys (nephritis), and the joints (arthritis). Toxic infected root canals can also help produce cancer and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Antibiotics cannot kill a root canal infection because there is no blood flow into the root canal infection because there is no blood flow into the root canaled tooth. The patient’s own white blood cells also cannot kill off infection in an infected root canaled tooth again because there is no longer a lymph or blood flow there. Infections and their toxic waste products may move from the infected and toxic root canaled tooth into the bony socket around the tooth and its periodontal ligament. The toxins can kill jawbone regions, producing jawbone cavitations, discussed on pages 11-12.
Neurological effects clinically linked to the above infections and their toxins appear to include: instability, depression, memory problems, dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and Parkinson’s disease.
Autoimmune effects may include allergies, asthma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ALS, lupus and scleroderma.
As found by acupuncture and oriental medicine, a root canaled tooth is most likely to adversely effect organs that are on the same meridian that the tooth lies on.
Avoiding toxic, infected root canaled teeth: Instead of doing a root canal treatment, have the tooth properly extracted.
Alternately, some attempt safer root canal treatment. Some holistic dentists are using experimental techniques involving laser and/or oxygen-ozone injections to sterilize the dead tooth and to solidify the dentin tubules. When they finally fill the cleaned out sterilized tooth, they use a (supposedly) less toxic root canal filling material called Endocal-10. This material is thought to greatly expand into the dentin tubules, sealing them and killing off any bacteria that are encountered. The use of the ozone-oxygen treatment to make root canals safe is still experimental; its prospects for long term success are unknown. Such alternative root canal treatments remain a controversial in holistic/biological dentistry. Many holistic dentists refuse to perform them, while many other dentists will try them for the patient who stubbornly insists on “saving the tooth” that has died. Such patients will need to be monitored for future problems. The attempts by some holistic dentists to find a safe way to do root canal treatments is understandable; only time will tell just how safe and successful their efforts are.
Testing for Mercury and Other Heavy Metals
Porphyrin profile testing. This is now regarded as the most meaningful test for chronic mercury toxicity and the test is totally safe! The most accurate lab test for mercury toxicity is a urine test in which the sample is evaluated for porphyrins. Mercury interferes with porphyrin metabolism, causing abnormally high amounts of various porphyrins to show up in the urine. See listings for testing labs on the back page.
Chelation challenge tests their risks. These are the best known and most medically recognized tests for diagnosing chronic mercury toxicity. A chelating drug such as DMPS or DMSA is taken orally. These drugs are intended to pull mercury and other toxic metals out of the tissues, puts them into the blood; some of that shows up in the urine, which is collected over the next 24 hours and sent to the testing lab for analysis. A report shows the levels of mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic metals. For patients with amalgams, the levels of mercury are generally much higher than for those without amalgams, indicating that amalgams are our highest source of mercury.
Although widely used, chelation challenge testing has drawbacks. First, it cannot perfectly quantitatively measure mercury levels in the entire body. It is only crudely accurate; the use of one pill does no perfectly mobilize mercury and other toxins from some of the places where they be stored, such as the brain. Further, the kidneys may not be working well enough to excrete the metals very well into the urine. The drug may cause adverse side effects, e.g. stressing the kidneys and causing general distress. The sickest patient seem most vulnerable to this. Therefore we caution against the use of chelation challenge test for any person who still has her dental amalgams or in any person who is very sick. Instead, consider porphyrin testing, which is both totally safe and more accurate.
Hair analysis is sometimes used to evaluate levels of essential minerals and toxic metals. The interpretation of the results of a hair analysis is something that few doctors are educated on competently. Andrew Cutler’s book Hair Test Interpretation: Finding Hidden Toxicities, explains that higher levels of mercury in a hair sample are just one hair indication that the person is mercury poisoned. Another more common indication is a pattern of deranged mineral transport as seen upon examination of the “essential and other” elements found in the hair. The person’s mercury toxicity is the usual cause of such deranged mineral transport. Cutler gives four counting rules to determine whether a hair test indicates that the patient has deranged mineral transport. Cutler gives four counting rules to determine whether a hair test indicates that the patient has deranged mineral transport. His book is available at 425-557-8299
Stool tests, saliva tests and urine test can also be done. Saliva mercury, while it may show alarming levels of mercury, doesn’t measure how much mercury is actually inside the body. Stool and urine tests measure how much is coming out of the body at a moment of time. How much is having trouble coming out of the body at a moment in time. How much is having trouble coming out and is left inside vital organs such as theh heart, the thyroid and the brain?
A porphyrin profile test, along with a complete blood count and blood analysis and a health history will likely provide enough medical date for an assessment of the patients need for a treatment plan.
Energetic testing. Some naturopaths and physicians use EAV testing (also called EDS, for electro-dermal screening) to determine if the body is having a problem with mercury or some other toxin. This is an energetic form of testing which involves measuring changes in the electrical conductivity of the skin in response to a substance. Such testing is quick, inexpensive and non-invasive. An alternative form of testing is “muscle testing” or “applied kinesiology.”
A complete blood count and a blood analysis in the hands of a knowledgeable practitioner is very helpful for evaluating health status.
It can help identify serious problems, from cancer to liver failure to kidney problems. But do not expect mercury or other toxic metals to show up directly in a blood test, (it does in cases of acute but not chronic poisoning) but the cholesterol level, white blood cell, red blood cell and platelet counts, for example, can provide indications as to whether the patient is facing a chronic toxic or infectious challenge. High cholesterol is a good indicator of a toxic burden. Other blood indicators reveal the quality of liver and kidney function.
Getting the Body Ready for Safe Amalgam Removal
1) Balance body chemistry. Usually the body is too acidic and the pH of the body needs to be shifted to a neutral or slightly alkaline pH. One of the main tools for achieving that is thought a good diet. One would shift the diet away from harmful foods such as sugar, alcohol, caffeine, MSG, aspartame (Nutrasweet), margarine and other unhealthy fats and junk foods. Avoid artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors. Natural, organic foods would be emphasized. Organic eggs, garlic, onions, broccoli and other high-sulfur foods are good for helping cope with mercury burden. Organic eggs, turkey, chicken and yogurt are better protein choices; pork, milk and soy products should be avoided.
2) Improve kidney and/or liver function. For this, supplements and cleansing treatments that can help. Gall stones are flushed out in a liver cleanse and colon cleansing is often done before and after that to make sure that stones are not blocked as they come down from the liver and go out through the intestine.
3) Seal up a leaky gut, if necessary. For healing this, use foods and supplements that can help heal. Fungal forms of yeast can punch holes in the intestines, and this much be dealt with; kill back yeast with an anti-fungal deit and supplements. The ultimate and more permanent relief from yeast/fungal problems usually has to wait until the amalgams are out and mercury has been detoxified.
4) Improve constipation using diet (fiber, more fruits, more water) and supplements to speed up the bowel transit.
5) Meanwhile, remove all other toxins from the surrounds, such as nail polish, toxic cosmetics, cigarette smoke, pesticides, perfumes and fragrances, fluoridated toothpastes.
6) Supplement with good forms of magnesium (malate or citrate form, 300 mg or more per day), zinc (picolinate form, 15 mg per day), buffered vitamin C (sodium ascorbate, not calcium ascorbate), 4,000 to 6,000 mg per day, or ascorbic acid form, with all meals, B vitamins and other minerals and supplements may be needed. Mercury tends to seriously deplete the above-listed vitamins and minerals and supplementation helps overcome that.
7) Rules of eating: moderate sized meals, with three meals a day at least five or more hours apart; no snacking between meals; snacks are disruptive to the digestive process and to sensing hormonal signals. No eating after dinner either; no bedtime snacks. Brush teeth right after each meal, so as to not stir up mercury vapor release again by brushing later on.
Fluoride is a Poison and Not a Nutrient
Fluoride is not a nutrient and the less we exposed to fluoride, the better. Fluoride is a cumulative poison that damages thyroid and other endocrine function. Fluoride accumulates in bones, teeth and connective tissue; it weakens bones and teeth, making them more brittle. It harms ligaments and other connective tissue, making it more likely to be injured. It accumulates in the brain, adversely affecting behavior and brain function. Fluoride contributes to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, especially when combined with aluminum. Fluoride strongly bond with aluminum and like fluoride, aluminum is a common pollutant.
Sodium fluoride, used in Crest and other drug store toothpastes, has been used as an insecticide and a rat poison. The fluoride ion is more toxic than lead and almost as toxic as arsenic. Although the fluorides are effective in killing germs (they poison them), they are much to toxic to be used in any oral hygiene products. Shoppers should reject “natural fluoride” toothpastes; calcium fluoride occurs in nature but it still provides the same old toxic fluoride ion.
Water fluoridation uses an even worse form of fluoride: the pollution wastes from a phosphate fertilizer plant. Mixed in with the toxic, acidic fluoride wastes are toxic metals: cadmium, arsenic, other toxic metals and also radioactive elements. There is no benefit to drinking such water, only harm. Water fluoridation increases the incidence of hip fracture in the elderly. Some studies have shown an incidence in cancer in general; it increases the incidence in osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, in young boys during the growth spurt ages.
The truth about fluoride is embarrassing to many major industries. For example, fluoride is a common food contaminant, found there as an insecticide residue. To avoid the high levels of fluoride in food, we should always buy organic food – fluoride is in commercially raised produce as an insecticide residue. Fluoride is found at unhealthy levels in most processed foods, e.g. soda pop, breakfast cereals, many wines, beers, etc. So fluoride is hard to avoid and it takes effort to avoid fluoride in our food, our drinking water, our bath and shower water (see suggestions in right column).
Fluoride accumulates in teeth and bones. Teeth suffer chalky white areas where the enamel is discolored. This damage is “dental fluorosis,” a problem whose incidence is higher in water fluoridated areas. Because teeth are damaged by fluoride, they are more brittle and more likely to break up under the stress of dental drilling. Bones accumulate a lot of our fluoride burden. Fluoride accumulation in the jawbones makes it harder to recover through surgery or other remedies. Jawbone disease problems increase the likelihood of losing our teeth.
Symptoms and Diseases Linked to Fluoride
Hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), harm to the entire endocrine (hormonal) system. Fluoride is a TSH mimic, giving a false signal to the thyroid gland. Fluoride harms thyroid function in numerous ways and can cause developmental delays in children: delayed tooth eruption, delayed intellectual development. It causes damages to tooth enamel and dentin known as “dental fluorosis” – mottled, brittle teeth, the chalky white spots sometimes seen. When this occurs, it is a sign of systemic fluoride poisoning, including damage to bones and connective tissue, brittle bones, overly calcified ligaments, tendons and other connective tissue.
It interferes with proper collagen formation, adversely affecting not only bones and teeth but also blood vessels and skin; fluoride accelerates the aches and pains of “aging.”
Fluoride delays eruption of the teeth in a child and retards intellectual development; 23 studies now have found that IQs in villages drop with increased water fluoride levels.
Pineal gland calcification causing reduced melatonin in children and precocious (premature) puberty, increased risk of sports injury and of hip fracture in the elderly, bone pain, joint pain and arthritic symptoms, stomach disturbances, headache and weakness, increased uptake of aluminum and lead into the brain, with aluminum fluoride causing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and kidney damage, genetic damage, increased birth defects, including a higher rate of babies born with Down syndrome, transforms normal cells into cancer cells, increases risk of cancer metastasis, sharply increases rate of osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, in young males, liver cancer and brain and behavioral disorders, including ADHD.
Sources of Fluoride
Industrial pollution (aluminum, steel, coal, smelters, phosphate fertilizer plants, bricks, glass, etc.), fluoridated toothpastes, fluoridated tap water, commercially grown fruits and vegetables (fluoride found as an insecticide residue), processed foods including breakfast cereals, soda pop, even baby foods, some beers and wines, fluoride tablets, some vitamin supplements, general anesthetics, prescription drugs, including many antidepressants, psycho-pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, antibacterials, antivirals, anticancer drugs and some steroid hormones.
How to Avoid Fluoride, How to Detoxify Fluoride
Use non-fluoridated toothpastes, as found in food co-ops and natural food stores.
Drink and cook with only non-fluoridated water, such as: good quality spring water (make sure it is naturally low in fluoride), distilled water or reverse osmosis filtered water (change filter often).
Eat natural, unprocessed foods, with meals prepared with non-fluoridated water.
If your water is fluoridated: minimize time spent showering, bathing or swimming in fluoridated water. Or, instead, sponge bath with spring water, warmed up on a stove. Reduce the uptake of fluoride from such fluoridated water by having excellent levels of calcium, magnesium and vitamin C. For best mineral status, drink plenty of pure water. Use a high quality sea salt instead of the common sodium chloride table salt.
Supplement with iodine in order to improve iodine status (iodine is needed in thyroid, breasts, ovaries and prostate) and to flush out fluoride through the urine. If rashes or other symptoms occur, reduce the dose and go slower.
Detoxification Methods and Ideas
Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, Ph.D., lists the following barriers to detoxification:
a) Geopathic stress (underground currents below where you sleep, causing unrestful sleep)
b) Electromagnetic or electric fields (e.g. from power lines, cell phone towers, cell phones, old computer monitors, wiring in older houses)
c) Infection (Lyme disease, often undiagnosed, makes the amalgam toxicity problem much worse; yeast problems often accompany the toxic metals)
d) Vitamin and mineral deficiencies; if we are low in necessary minerals such as magnesium and zinc, then our bodies will be less willing to let go of toxic dental metals such as lead, copper, tin, nickel and mercury.
Klinghardt, M.D., Ph.D., suggests supplementation with chlorella, a green algae that bind toxins coming down from the liver, and helps them go out in the feces instead of being reabsorbed. Following amalgam removal, patients taking higher amounts of selenium are in danger of accelerating the detox to “going too fast.” They may need to reduce the X-it or other selenium supplement in order to avoid headaches and other unpleasant symptoms over too-rapid a detoxification.
Magnesium – malate or citrate form, about 400-500 mg/day. No calcium.
Zinc – picolinate form, 15-20 mg/day.
Vitamin C – ascorbic acid (but only with meals) or sodium ascorbate, not calcium ascorbate. 4,000 – 6,000 mg/day, or more.
Vitamin B Complex. The B12 in it should be in the form methylcobalamine, not in the form of cyanocobalamine.
Huggins and Queen warn about the harmful effects of cheap forms of minerals, such as the oxides. They suggest that calcium supplements are best avoided before and during the detox period. We need some calcium of course but they suggest that the calcium can be best obtained in our foods, such as green leafy vegetables, seeds, butter and eggs.
Klinghardt’s Detoxification Protocol. Dr. Dietrich Kinghardt likes to use a combination of chlorella, cilantro tincture, garlic, goat whey powder, fish oils and electrolytes for patient detoxification. The cilantro is used to mobilize the mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum from places such as the bones and nervous system. The body’s most important detox organ, the liver, expels the toxins in the bile, which is a digestive fluid that flows from the liver down into the small intestines. Ideally, the toxins move through the intestines and leave the body in the feces. But the lining of the gut has many veins and nerves that can pick up the toxic metals and recirculate them back into the liver or the brain. The chlorella is used to bind toxins, preventing them from reabsorbed and making sure they go out in the feces. The chlorella also serves as a source of minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll and restores bowel flora. Cheaper chlorellas are also to be avoided, as they are likely to be contaminated with heavy metals picked up during the manufacturing process. Please see Dr. Kinghardt’s website, www.neutraltherapy.com for more details about his Neurotoxin Elimination Protocol.
Some suggest blue green algae rather chlorella to bind the toxins that flow down from the liver in the bile. Other binders that can be used are alginate (from seaweed) and activated charcoal (from wood). Activated charcoal is a black powder that is stirred into plenty of water and drank; it is fairly tasteless and well tolerated. Activated charcoal can be used as a poultice on the skin, to draw out the toxins and fight infections. Activated charcoal is inexpensive and has many applications.
Various products have incorporated the chlorella/ cilantro idea into one product, processing these natural foods to make them more easily absorbed. PCA, made by Maxxam Labs, was the first. PCA was followed by the appearance of NDF and NDF Plus.
A new detox supplement: OSR. In recent years, a new supplement called OSR (Oxidative Stress Relief) was developed by the chemist, Boyd Haley, PhD. It assists detoxification by boosting levels of glutathione, the body’s natural detoxification substance. OSR also scavenges free radicals such as the highly damaging hydroxyl radical. Available in 100 mg capsules. Sold as a supplement, it does not make any drug claims; test data suggests that it is both safe and very beneficial.
Devices are being marketed to help drive and energize the release of toxins through the skin and other routes of elimination. But the hot bath is an old standby for detoxification. During active detoxification, you would add a half cup of Epsom salts to the bath or a half cup of making soda; once that is well tolerated, you can try both a half a cup of Epsom salts and half a cup of baking soda. Bath temperatures need to remain moderate (not to exceed 104 F_ and bath time should not exceed 20 minutes. – see Detoxification by Hal Huggins, DDS.
Clay baths are good for helping draw the toxins out into the your bath water. See source listed on the back page.
Saunas, especially dry heat saunas, are popular and widely used for detox. After working up a sweat, you step out and shower the sweat off, so that you get rid of the toxins coming out in the sweat. Then, if you want, you can go back in and sweat some more and repeat. People with multiple sclerosis are less heat tolerant (it may exacerbate the symptoms) but some may be able to tolerate the sauna treatments for short periods of time, once the amalgams are removed. But moderation in time and temperature is urged.
Foot baths are a popular and inexpensive way of detoxing during sleep. A special foot pad is taped onto the soles of one or both feet; the next morning one finds toxins have come out of the soles of the feet and into the pad, which are quickly disposed of.
Lymphatic massage, can help move the toxins out of congested areas and through the lymphatic system. Such massage is most helpful for the bed-ridden or disabled who cannot exercise or move about freely.
Bouncing on a rebounder (the little trampolines) can also get those toxins moving. Horseback riding (with its bounces) or riding a mountain bike on a bumpy path can serve the same purpose.
Moderate outdoor exercise in the fresh air and under natural sunlight help improve oxygenation of the tissues. Extreme, exhausting exercise is to be avoided. Eye glasses should be removed, if possible, in order to receive the full, natural effects of outdoor light – beneficial even on a cloudy day. Moderate daily exercise, in an amount that is refreshing, helps improve digestion, bowel function, hormonal function, fitness, mental well-being and sleep.
Color therapy or “light therapy” is useful in helping the body and the brain let go of toxins.
Music, relaxation, prayer and emotional therapy may be helpful, especially for brain detoxification. Resolving mental conflicts and finding peace and relaxation can help the brain let go of the toxins.
Thoughts for Healing and Recovery
Be safety conscious. This means not rushing, as some do, overdoing the number of supplements or starting with too high a dose. Rather, try one new thing at a time and give it some time to work, so you can evaluate its benefit as well as its safety for you. You are unique and you have to judge what is safe and beneficial for yourself. This judgement is assisted by keeping a health journal so as to be able to look back, over time and see the big picture, the pattern of change and progress. Do not be ashamed to stop taking something disagrees with you.
Allow signs and symptoms of detox such as sweating, skin discharges, even moderate fevers to happen. Symptoms occur when the body is solving its problems, so generally try to respect the body’s wisdom and let discharges, rashes and fevers happen. Do not rush to use drugs to suppress the symptoms. Dental amalgam detoxification may take a year or more although some will feel better sooner. Do not rush into aggressive detox methods right after all amalgams are out; give your nervous system a week or more to readjust to the change.
The healthier diet and lifestyle that you develop should be a lifetime commitment and at least some of the supplementation for detox as well as for vitamins and minerals should probably be ongoing and lifelong.
The mercury vapor that people with amalgams give off when they exhale may start to bother you or make you “crash” so crowds and social events, especially where people with amalgams are drinking or chewing food may need to be avoided. In the same vein, your spouse may also more noticeably adversely affect you, if he/she has amalgams and you are detoxifying. If you eat with your spouse and sleep with your spouse, that is a lot of tie for exposure to mercury vapor exhaled from your spouse’s mouth. Women can also receive a mercury exposure from their husband’s semen. The ideal situation is for both of the couple to get the amalgams out and detoxify.
Most prescription drugs and even over the counter drugs have toxic side effects that can derail your progress. So use caution and research a drug’s side effects before trying it even one time. Vaccinations are, if anything, even more dangerous than drugs are. For example, the flu shot given to adults and older children usually still contains 25 micrograms of mercury plus aluminum and formaldehyde. Flu shots are neither safe nor very effective and they are the worst way to try to avoid the flu. The mercury in vaccines weaken our cellular immunity and this means a reduced protection against general infections, toxic insults and cancer. It is notable that the Amish community in the Unites States, which does not vaccinate, was spared the autism epidemic that swept the U.S. during the 1990’s. Their children were also spared the spike in childhood asthma, juvenile diabetes and other such disorders experienced by the general population of children. Viral contamination remains an insidious threat that lurks in most vaccines; the polio vaccine exposed a hundred million people to the SV40 virus, a deadly monkey virus that can cause mesothelioma, osteosarcoma and other lethal cancers. The research into this problem was thwarted by the NIH and their own scientists were muzzled.
Homeopathy is an alternate way to strengthen the immune system, protect ourselves from infectious threat and to help us recover from an infection. Essential oils is another more natural approach. Instead of harming the body like vaccinations do, these safer methods works with the body’s own natural life force. Homeopathy may be helpful in restoring health for the person who is detoxifying, helping to address that person’s unique issues. But note: homeopathic mercury is not usually considered safe or useful for mercury detoxification.
Contacts & Resources
Heavy metal toxicity testing – porphyrin profile test:
Metametrix 800-221-4640, follow phone prompts.
Laborotoire Philippe Auguste, – Paris, France
contact@labbio.net
Note: this Paris lab provides an interpretation of the porphyrin test results, but American labs are not allowed by the FDA to do so.
Some dental materials used by Holistic Dentists:
Composites and similar restorations:
For good biocompatibility: Grandio (newer material) or Admira, both bade by VOCO
For strength and durability:
Filtek Supreme, Filtek Z-250
Crowns, Inlays, Onlays:
Composites: Sculpture/Fibrekor, Diamond Crown, Cristoba. Belle Glass – unshaded is very bio-compatible but it is not as a strong.
Ceramics: Zirconia (zirconium oxide) is being used rather than alumina (aluminum oxide). Lava is a frequently used ceramic material.
For bonding agents:
Futura bonding agents:
Futura bond NR, made by VOCO
Excite
Full Dentures:
Vitalon 1060 Cadmium free/ tissue tone 99, made by Fricke Intl. 800-537-4253
Partial dentures:
Flexite Supreme (natural), Flexite MP (clear acrylic),
Flexite 540 (clear nylon), Lucitone FRS (nylon)
The teeth themselves: Trusoft, Classic Teeth
Some dental labs (there are many others)
Lafayette Lab, Indiana 602-996-9462
Cook Dental Lab, Wisconsin 920-842-2083
Orthodontics: look for the OSB (Oral Systemic Balancing) system developed by Dr. Ferrand Robson, or the ALF (Advanced Lightware Functional) developed by Dr. Darick Nordstrom. Avoid nickel in braces.
To protect patients during amalgam removal:
Activated Charcoal (for better patient protection) 888-264-5568 or www.BuyActivatedCharcoal.com
IAOMT has Clean-up, and positive pressure masks, call 863-420-6373
Tact-Air Systems: ionizing device to clean mercury out of the dental office air, 905-842-2573
IQ Air systems, high volume air vacuum system, 800-977-9247
Biocompatibility testing:
Electro-dermal screening, EAV or applied kinesiology – ask your holistic dentist or other practitioners on the DAMS practitioner list.
Blood serum biocompatibility testing:
Clifford Consulting & Research 719-550-0008
Scientific Health Solutions 800-331-2303
Allergy testing: MELISA Diagnostic Testing
800-650-7850, X3 or email them at
testinfo@MELISAdiagnostics.com
Natural fluoride-free toothpastes and oral hygiene products.
In your food co-op or natural foods store you will find natural fluoride free toothpaste brands such as Weleda, Doctor Burt’s, Perio Bite and Peelu. By telephone, you may order Periopaste (made by BioPro) a toothpaste that helps fight periodontal (gum) disease naturally. BioPro also sells other oral hygiene products including the Hydrofloss (an oral irrigator); BioPro is at 866-924-6776; its website is www.docharrison.com.
The Dental Herb Company also makes natural oral health care products but they are sold only through dentists.
Detoxification products and devices
OSR (Oxidative Stress Relief) – doctors and dentists may email an order to behaley@ctiscience.com
HMD (Heavy Metal Detox) 800-952-4787 or see their website, NaturalPathSilverWings.com
Chelorex (supplement) 540-740-8330
Prime Chlorella 888-277-7330
Nature’s Balance: chlorella, cilantro extract 800-858-5198
Dragon River Herbal: cilantro extract 800-813-2118
Heavenly Heat – saunas 800-697-2862
HAWC – Bathing Clays 800-801-0922
Body Pure – foot pads 888-951-7873
To find dentists who do Cavitat jawbone scans and/or who treat jawbone cavitations: call DAMS. Call also to discuss joining DAMS, getting the newsletter, order selecting books and videos or other questions.
DAMS talk line:651-644-4572
order line:800-311-6265
Our email is <dams@usfamily.net>
Our mailing address is:
DAMS, Intl.
1043 Grand Ave, #317
St. Paul MN 55105
