1 post tagged “amalgam”
Have you heard of "quicksilver" aka mercury? It's a liquid metal that used tobe used in thermometers, batteries and other items that are being eliminated from the human environment as much as possible. It's probably sitting in your mouth if you have so called "silver" fillings which are really around 50% mercury and are probably the only kind your dental insurance company wants to pay for in non-visible back teeth. It was also the substance used by hat makers in times past that caused them severe neurological problems and is the reason for the phrase "mad as a hatter" (as seen in Alice in Wonderland).
People have known mercury is bad for health for a long time. The US Environmental protection agency does not allow any more than 2 parts per billion in drinking water. That equals about one drop of mercury from an eyedropper in 25,000 liters, or 1 drop in 6,604 gallons of water. 1 drop in small pool that is 8 feet by 12 feet by 8 feet deep would probably be slightly above this limit. That's a lot of water and very little mercury!
It's also suggested to avoid eating too much of certain kinds of fish since they contain methyl mercury. These are mostly larger fish that eat smaller fish and concentrate the mercury. Even for less mercury-filled fish it's recommended to limit eating of them.
I'm sure there are arguments against the above video which seems based on fairly solid research. In any case, when it comes to health and potentially disasterous and distructive consequences, it seems smart to err on the side of caution when the evidence is unclear. Your dentist will likely be casual and non-committal about the consequences of mercury in your mouth for reasons such as they haven't studied the research, they may need to use alternative techniques and materials instead of mercury or they're afraid of saying anything that might suggest past liability. But why are many countries discouraging these types of fillings? Why do many dentists use other kinds of fillings for their own mouth or their children's mouths?
Before your enter the dentist's office and your dentist says "your insurance only pays for amalgam fillings on your back teeth" and herds you in that direction (with a footnote in a brochure about possible problems) you should consider what you want put in your mouth and make an informed decision.
