MERCURY FILLINGS: THE ENEMY WITHIN

By Joan Ullyett • March 4th, 2009 • 4645 Views

At some point in our lives, usually starting in childhood, many of us developed cavities in our teeth that needed to be filled. As children we naturally trusted that our parents knew best when they sent us to the dentist to have our cavities taken care of, and our parents in turn trusted that the dentist was doing what was right and necessary to maintain our dental health. The fact that the fillings, known as mercury amalgam, were comprised of 50% mercury, a potent neurotoxin, never seemed to be an issue. The fillings were safe, inquiring parents were told, in their amalgam state, that is combined with copper, tin and silver. Curiously, a poison when outside our mouths, so much so that the dentist would not even touch the amalgam with his or her own gloved hands and disposed of it as hazardous waste, yet completely safe and virtually inert when in our mouths. Or so we were told…

Mercury amalgam was introduced to North America in the early 1800's from Europe and used for a short period of time, but relatively soon after in the 1840's North American dentistry turned away from its use largely due to concerns about the toxic nature of mercury. In fact, as a requirement of membership in the American Society of Dental Surgeons, members had to sign a document that stated they would not use mercury amalgam in their practice. However, this progressive, health-oriented stance was to be short-lived. In 1859 the organization we now know as the American Dental Association was formed and chose to endorse the use of mercury amalgam, declaring it safe for use in the human body. This puzzling about-turn became less so when it was revealed some years later that some members of the ADA held patents on the mercury amalgam ‘recipe'.

Thus, in the last century and a half, due to the widespread acceptance and use of mercury amalgams, a massive experiment of sorts has been underway; that is, how does long term mercury exposure affect the human body? No one has ever actually agreed to be part of this experiment, but nevertheless it continues....

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Location:  Vancouver, CA

The Health Nerd is Joan Ullyett BA, RHN, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and natural health consultant. Joan received her honours degree in Anthropology from the University of Windsor in 1993 and her RHN certification from the Canadian School...