Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal
Because of this, our office is also mercury-SAFE. We follow the strictest safety protocols for removing, handling, and disposing of this dangerous neurotoxin.
What Are the Health Risks of Mercury Amalgam Fillings?
“Silver” filling material is more accurately called dental amalgam, as the material is a blend of metals: powdered silver, tin, and copper mixed together with a much larger amount of liquid mercury.
No matter how young or old you are or how many fillings you have, amalgam poses a risk to whole body health. This is because mercury vapor is released from the fillings with every bite and swallow. Inhaled, the mercury enters the circulatory system via the lungs, which transports the toxin throughout the body.
Some people are able to excrete mercury quite easily, but in others, mercury can become stored in organs such as the kidneys, liver, and brain. This is even more likely for folks who are regularly exposed to mercury in other ways, such as at work or through eating lots of fish.
Over the years, research has implicated mercury toxicity in a wide range of health conditions, including autoimmune and cognitive disorders, depression and other psychological issues, and cardiovascular problems.
Two other problems with mercury amalgam also bear mention. For one, if you have other metals in your mouth, the presence of amalgam may produce a battery effect. The dissimilar metals generate currents, and saliva acts as a conductive medium for them. Known as oral galvanism, this situation can contribute to symptoms ranging from tinnitus to hearing and vision problems, mouth pain, a burning tongue, and more.
Additionally, a dentist placing amalgams has to cut away a lot more healthy, natural tooth structure to do so. This means a weaker tooth. This plus the fact metal fillings also expand and contract, means your tooth is more prone to crack, requiring costly dental repairs and replacement.
How Do I Find Out Whether Mercury Fillings Are Making Me Sick?
There are a number of tests we can run to determine the impact your amalgam fillings are having on your health. For instance, Quicksilver’s Mercury Tri-Test uses hair, blood, and urine samples to assess both your body’s mercury burden and its ability to eliminate it. The results can also help us know if extra support will be needed during the detoxification phase of treatment.
We can also take a Blood Metals Panel to identify any other heavy metals that may be interfering with your health, as well as detect any imbalances in nutrient metals such as calcium and magnesium.
Also useful is meridian stress assessment with our MEAD-20 unit, which measures the flow of energy along the energetic pathways of your body. By identifying blockages and imbalances, we can get a good read on the interplay between oral conditions and your whole body health.
Why Is Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal So Important?
The dental industry as a whole is one of the greatest contributors to environmental mercury pollution, adding about 100 tons of the toxin to the waste stream each year. Some comes via wastewater; some via amalgam capsules and waste being tossed into the trash, eventually winding up in landfill. Yet more dental mercury comes from the urine and feces of those with amalgam fillings, as well as after death via crematoria emissions.
At Desert Valley Dentistry, we respect the Earth we’ve been given and all living beings upon it. So we do all we can to limit exposure to this potent neurotoxin.
What Does Safe Amalgam Removal Involve?
Dr. Larry, Dr. Trevor, and all of our staff are thoroughly trained in safe mercury removal techniques and practices, ensuring that both we and you are as protected as possible from toxic exposures during the removal procedure.
State-of-the-art 3-filter air purifiers by Levoit constantly clean the air in our operatories, and a negative ion generating/capturing device capable of removing mercury particles and vapor is used in the room where your procedure will be done. In addition, a mercury vapor vacuum will be placed near your mouth during the procedure to capture additional emissions.
Amalgam separators are installed in each operatory to prevent any amalgam from being released into wastewater.
You and all the team members will be provided with disposable protective coverings, including face and hair shields. You’ll be provided oxygen through a well-sealed mask. A rubber dam will be placed to isolate the teeth to be worked on and to keep cut amalgam and particulate from being swallowed.
Other precautions include:
- Using lots of water to reduce heat and high speed suction to remove water, vapor, and particulate.
- Removing the fillings in chunks so as not to vaporize the mercury.
- Rinsing with chlorella, which absorbs mercury.
Afterwards, all disposable items will be disposed of in hazardous waste, and all contaminated components in the operating area will be cleaned with mercury decontamination wipes.
What About Detox?
You’ll be provided supplementation protocols both before and after amalgam removal to support your body’s ability to rid itself of stored mercury and other heavy metals and toxins. Dr. Larry and Dr. Trevor are also available to work with your physician or other healing professional to coordinate treatments for optimal outcomes.