Do you suspect that you or someone in your family is afflicted?

Dental amalgam fillings release mercury!

Dental amalgam ("silver") fillings have been used for more than 150 years to fill dental cavities. Most Swedes today have dental amalgam fillings in their mouths. These fillings are made up of mercury to 50% (mercury = Hg).

Dental professionals and responsible authorities have neglected to inform the public that only new fillings contain 50% mercury. The older the filling is the less mercury it contains. Everyone is in agreement that mercury is released from the fillings but not about the amounts or the consequences for your health.

Mercury is leaking from your amalgam fillings due to:

• Corrosion - deterioration through electrochemical reactions between different metals in the saliva leading to weak electric currents. The same type of processes that occur in the metals of cars in the presence of moisture and is called "rust". Amalgam fillings are made up of mercury, silver, tin, copper and at times zinc in uneven proportions. Even solitary fillings corrode. When in contact with gold or other precious metals amalgam fillings corrode more easily and give off higher quantities of mercury.
• Evaporation. Mercury is the only metal which evaporates at room temperature. Mercury vapor evaporates from amalgam fillings, in particular when the surface is abraded by chewing. It takes at least an hour before the increased release of mercury stops after chewing. The mercury vapor mixes with inhaled air. The vapor enters the body through the lungs and the mucous membranes and spreads throughout the entire body, including the brain.
• Abrasion. The amalgam fillings are abraded by chewing. Amalgam particles get swallowed. Some mercury gets absorbed but it is not currently known how much.

Symptoms Chronic low dosage mercury poisoning can give many symptoms. Any individual can show a number of the symptoms listed below. More symptoms will occur as the illness progresses and the differences between individuals will diminish as a result. Afflicted individuals receive a variety of diagnoses by the medical establishment and rarely dare (or are given the time) to inform the therapist of all their symptoms.

If you are afflicted by some of these symptoms you may be mercury poisoned:

Extreme fatigue, dizziness, vertigo, headache/migraine, stiffness and ache in muscles and joints, blurred vision, double vision, impaired coordination of eyes and muscles, increased heart palpations without external cause, frequent infections of the urinary system, frequent sinusitis, prone to infections, menstrual disturbances , anxiety attacks, depressions, mood swings and irritability, shyness, lack of initiative.

Other common symptoms: Allergies, asthma, eczema, hair loss, weight loss, partial loss of hearing and smell, tinnitus, impaired short-term memory, difficulties to concentrate and to think, restlessness, nervousness, sleeping disturbances, constipation/diarrhea, numbness, cramps, weak muscles, chronic fever/fluctuating temperature, increased sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation.

Dental amalgam and other diseases

It is now evident that mercury from dental amalgam can be involved as a contributing factor in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatic diseases, fibromyalgia, SLE, psoriasis, ulcer colitis, Morbus Crohn, allergies, heart conditions, epilepsy and mental problems.

Mercury is a poison

Mercury has a negative effect on the biochemistry of cells. This has long been known and demonstrated by researchers all over the world. Mercury causes disturbances in the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain which can result in psychiatric problems. Normal conditions are established in most cases when the constant exposure to mercury is eliminated. This process can take from 3 months to several years.

The concentration of mercury in the brain and the kidneys of autopsied individuals correlates positively to the number of dental amalgams. Allergy to mercury shown by skin test is of minor importance. Mercury can cause an "internal allergy" when the immune system reacts to the metal. Mercury disturbs the balance of the immune system and can lead to a reaction against ones owns tissues (auto immunity) and to increased allergic reactions against different types of foods, plants and chemicals. It can also result in the spread of inflammatory processes through substances from triggered white blood cells.

Alternative dental therapies and materials

Dental cavities can be filled with a variety of materials besides amalgam. The most frequently used are plastic materials which polymerize and harden on location in the tooth after exposure to light. These materials are called dental composites. Thanks to the improved quality of modern composite materials such fillings will have approximately the same life span as dental amalgam if they are put in place correctly. Large restorations in the posterior teeth may call for ceramic reconstructions such as inlays or crowns.

All dental composites contain chemical substances and there is always a risk of an allergic reaction. The most prevalent result, however, is decreased allergic reaction once the dental amalgam has been replaced with dental composite. If your intention is to replace your amalgams get in contact with our organization for additional information!

Important when replacing your dental amalgam:

• Improve your physical resistance against mercury by supplementing your diet with selenium, zinc and vitamins.
• Demand that your dentist apply a rubber dam around the treated tooth to protect your gingiva from amalgam particles.
• For your protection it is necessary to use strong air suction and water cooling. A respiratory filter (carbon filter from 3M) or a fresh air mask over the nose provides additional protection.
• The dentist protects him/herself and the patient if a strong suction is applied by the help of a vacuum or specialized dental devices now being industrially manufactured.
• Exchange your fillings slowly!! 6-8 weeks in-between each removal if the dentist does not have specialized appliances.
• Be sure to have amalgam under gold restorations and brass screws removed from root treated teeth.
• Avoid metals in your mouth absolutely as far as possible.

No dental amalgam in children!

According to Swedish law you have the right to refuse the use of dental amalgam in your child's teeth. Tf demands that dentists be made responsible to inform their patients about this legal right. Other countries have altogether stopped using amalgam in children. So can we!

Stop the use of amalgam

Tandvårdsskadeförbundet (Tf) The Swedish Association of Dental Mercury Patients has for many years been demanding that the health hazards in connection with dental amalgam be recognized by society and the use of dental amalgam forbidden. The Swedish government has decided on a step by step cessation of the use of amalgam until 1997. The use of dental amalgam has diminished to a great extent in the treatment of children and teenagers. The social outcasts The Swedish decision to stop using amalgam was taken on environmental grounds. Unfortunately, the Swedish health care establishment does not accept the fact that dental amalgam can be of importance in the cause of disease. Patients afflicted by mercury poisoning from dental amalgam are treated as social outcasts as a result. They are bounced around between different medical institutions and departments without getting any proper diagnosis or treatment. They are forced into a continuous struggle with the public health insurance agency to get their legal rights.

Tandvårdsskadeförbundet (Tf) The Swedish Association of Dental Mercury Patients

Tandvårdsskadeförbundet (Tf) The Swedish Association of Dental Mercury Patients is a patient organization is working for a better and healthier dental care and stressing the need for biocompability in dental materials and techniques. Tf demands declaration of ingredients for dental materials, biological testing of the effects of dental materials now in use and in new materials. Tf demands compulsory registration of the side effects of different dental materials in the mouth as well as in general. It is also of the greatest importance that afflicted individuals are provided with proper rehabilitation and social and economic support from the society. The old patriarchal attitudes within the health care establishment must change. Health care must be based upon science, clinical experience and the experience of the patients.

Dental amalgam/ mercury is toxic waste even in the mouth!
Illustration: Gunilla Dahlgren

Join us!
Join our struggle and help fight the battle against one of the worst health and environmental scandals of this century. It could happen to you. It concerns your children's future health.

© 1998 Tandvårdsskadeförbundet

Also make sure to read these books: Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings...Hazardous to Your Health! and Mercury Detoxification by Tom McGuire