New Trends In Dentistry

Mercury in Your Mouth

The dental community is sharply divided on the issue of “silver amalgam fillings.” The controversy starts with the term itself: “silver” fillings are actually made from a complex alloy that contains less silver than it does quicksilver, or mercury — an element known to be a potent neurotoxin.

The dental establishment, as represented by the American Dental Association and most state dental boards, stands foursquare behind such fillings. Supposedly, they rarely cause problems. How could they? After all, under normal circumstances the amount of mercury leakage from a single dental amalgam filling is negligible — just a fraction of what is normally inhaled and ingested from other sources.

Concerned dentists and health advocates, however, point out that, even if a single filling adds only a fraction of the background exposure, with five or six fillings you are roughly doubling the amount entering your bloodstream from all sources.

More generally, the problem is that the mercury leaking from dental fillings is in addition to all other sources that enter the bloodstream and accumulate in bodily tissues. More mercury in your body is clearly not a good thing, whatever the amount. From the health perspective, mercury is in some ways like lead. Both are heavy metals. In both cases, small amounts in the body can lead to major problems. In both cases, there is no accepted threshold level of intake that can be considered safe. So asking “How many mercury fillings would you like to have in your mouth?” is akin to asking “How much lead paint would it be ok for your child to eat?”

The Trend is Clear

Whatever their professional organizations may say, many dentists are abandoning the use of mercury-based amalgam fillings. Their concern is not just for their patients: They are beginning to realize that in handling mercury compounds on a regular basis, they and their assistants are exposed to a greater risk than a patient with a mouthful of fillings. Nationwide, one in five dentists now practice “mercury-free” dentistry.

In the past, governmental agencies have consistently upheld the official position of the dental establishment. The U.S. Public Health Service has said that there is no evidence to support claims of adverse effects from mercury fillings except in cases of allergy. Similarly, state dental boards have consistently denied that there is reason for concern.

But the winds of change are stirring. Some countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, officially recommend that dentists use alternative fillings, especially for children and pregnant women. In the US, Arizona, California, Colorado, and Maine have laws requiring dentists to explain potential mercury risks to patients. In 2001, the California legislature disbanded the state’s dental board when it dragged its feet warning the public about the mercury issue. In February 2002, the FDA announced a proposal to upgrade dental mercury from a Class 1 to a Class 2 medical device: This would require the makers of metal fillings to list all product ingredients on labels, and encourage dentists and patients to report side effects. Diane Watson, U.S. Representative from California, has introduced a bill in the Congress calling for stricter warnings, an immediate ban on mercury fillings in children and pregnant women, and eventually an outright ban.

Integrative Dentistry

For some dentists, ditching mercury is just the first step on a long and difficult road to a healthier, more natural practice. Integrative dentistry is an emerging trend that combines traditional, non-traditional, and innovative principles, methods, and materials, in a coherent, meaningful system.

As for materials, dentistry uses many different types: for bonding, cementing, fillings, impressions, crowns, and so on. Some remain in the mouth for just minutes, some for decades. They all interact in subtle and complex ways with the various systems of the body. It is therefore important that the materials used be bio-compatible, as much as possible. For example, to forestall setting up electrical patterns in the mouth, some dentists seek to avoid metallic dental materials. They also avoid standard anaesthetics in favor of those that are less stressful to the body and do not break down into substances with residual toxic effects.

In addition to the judicious use of conventional and innovative materials and methods, integrative dentistry may incorporate selected non-traditional principles and systems — biological dentistry, for example.

Biological Dentistry

Biological dentistry is based on the ground-breaking work of Dr. Weston Price, who first demonstrated the “focal infection” theory some fifty years ago. He took an infected tooth from a person with a particular illness and implanted it into a rabbit. Soon the rabbit manifested the same symptoms as the person with the infected tooth. He did this experiment over and over, with the same results. He concluded that a condition (such as an infection) in one part of the body (such as the mouth) can readily lead to a similar or corresponding condition elsewhere in the body.

There are many anecdotal reports of people who recovered from intractable chronic conditions throughout the body as a result of taking care of problems in the mouth.

Biological dentists often use Sannum remedies, a special type of homeopathics developed by Dr.Gunther Enderlei. His theory of pleo-morphism, developed in 1916, states that microbes of every type will adapt to their environment and to the nutrients available to them. By manipulating their environment in specific ways, they can be made to change back into forms that are no longer harmful to the body. Thus, potentially harmful microbes can be altered, and then eliminated from the body through natural means.

The Holistic Dental Association, will provide you with a referral to dentists in your area who practice holistic, or biological dentistry. Beware, however, it is not enough for dentists to call themselves “holistic,” or “biological,” and use the term as a way to market their practice. Check their references and other dentists’ experience in referrng patients to them, both technically and holistically.