Amalgam fillings ---> Safe or Unsafe???

There is a lot of confusion over the safety of Amalgam fillings. A naturopathic doctor recently told me that my number one priority should be to have my amalgams replaced. He explained that metal on the top and bottom teeth with saliva in between transforms your mouth into a battery! The dental associations in Canada and the USA say that there is no scientific evidence that Amalgam fillings are unsafe.

I just finished reading an article in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Aug/Sept 1999 about mercury toxicity and amalgam fillings. Anyone considering removing amalgams would be well served to read this article.

Interesting facts about Mercury

• Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive element on earth.
• A silver coloured mercury amalgam filling normally contains 52% mercury.
• On average, amalgam filling weighs 1 gram and contains 1/2 gram of mercury.
• The typical adult carries ten amalgam fillings containing about 5 grams of mercury.
• 1/2 gram of mercury in a ten acre lake would warrant issuance of a a fish advisory for the lake.
• Running shoes with mercury lights in their heels were banned by the Minnesota Legislature in 1994 because they contained a 1/2 gram of mercury in them and this was considered dangerous to public health.
• The use of mercury amalgams has been banned and are on a scheduled phaseout in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Sweden.
• Mercury-amalgam dental fillings have never been subjected to the kind of regulatory scrutiny and approval process demanded of all modern drugs and medical devices to prove safety.

If you have mercury amalgam dental fillings and are considering removing them as I am it is important to understand that although they will say there is no scientific evidence that amalgams are unsafe they will not be able to point to any scientific evidence that they ARE safe either. I prefer to remove myself from the North America wide Mercury Toxicity experiment.