Important : Always consult your physician for recognized
medical treatments. The information on this page is for educational
purposes, and should not be viewed as a substitute for legally
licensed medical/dental professional advice.
Mercury exposure from mercury
dental fillings, also known as "silver" fillings and
"amalgams", is a life long threat. When a person chews,
drinks, swallows and breathes, mercury released from dental fillings
is absorbed by the lungs and the linings of the digestive system
into the bloodstream. As they corrode, mercury fillings release
ionized mercury into the saliva, tooth pulp, and gum tissues
leading to the digestive system and bloodstream.
There has been a long running debate over the safety of these
dental fillings. Dental industry trade representatives, most
notably the American Dental Association (ADA) have long denied
that there is any detrimental effects from the use of mercury
in repairing dental cavities.
For more than a century, the ADA has contended that once a
mercury amalgam filling has "cured", the mercury is
chemically bound, and cannot escape the filling. This speculation
has always been at odds with the commonplace observation that
mercury fillings "wear out"; corroding, eroding, breaking,
and falling out of the teeth - requiring replacement with new
fillings over time.
Recently, evidence has come forward that soundly refutes the
contention/speculation that the mercury "stays put"
in the fillings. (Please see our page: Dental
The center of debate over safety has now switched to the question
of "how much mercury exposure does it take to become ill
?". Most of the classical work establishing mercury as a
potent neuro-toxin has come from acute, that is high dose, short
duration exposures. Such exposures demonstrate high levels of
mercury in blood and urine, and are the basis of present diagnostic
standards for mercury toxicity.
Many current investigators have come to believe that chronic
low-dose exposure - small amounts over a long time - such as
is received from mercury dental fillings follow a different dynamic.
Because of the strong attraction for molecules containing
sulfur, low doses of mercury clear from the blood quickly taking
residence in the body in an immobilized and not easily detected
state. Traditional diagnostic methods and standards for acute
mercury toxicity are inadequate for determining health dysfunctions
arising from long term low-dose exposure to mercury via dental
Recent scientific investigations have shown that persons suffering
from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) commonly demonstrate immune
T-cells that are programmed to react against mercury and other
dental metals. (Please see our page: MELISA
and Dental Metals)
Independent researchers have also shown that CFS sufferers
have continuously activated immune systems, though a long sought
viral cause for this activation still cannot be identified.
Immune sensitization against mercury and other dental metals
changes the nature of the discussion regarding the safety of
dental metals. Acute exposure criteria no longer apply when the
immune system is directly involved. The standard of practice
in allergic immunology is to avoid the substance that stimulates
the immune system.
Below we outline what we have gathered from various sources,
including researchers and those practicing dentistry and medicine,
regarding the resolution of dental mercury and/or dental metal
1. Diagnosing metal caused illness. Every commonly
used method of diagnosing dental metal caused illness has problems.
Hair tests can show elevated mercury, but very rarely show enough
mercury to meet acute exposure standards. Urine studies are also
insufficient to agree with acute exposure criteria. Even with
a chelation challenge, persons who are not ill will often show
similar levels of mercury as those who are ill and suspecting
their dental fillings.
We are left with only two methods of diagnosing dental metal
caused illness that appear logical, supported by the objective
Process of elimination. When all other potential causes
have been eliminated, then the teeth at long last become suspect.
If you have mercury dental fillings in your teeth you have a
significantly increased mercury exposure over what you would
receive from food, water, and air.
You don't need hair, urine or blood studies to determine that
you are exposed to mercury- just count your fillings in the mirror.
All dental metals release small amounts of their metal in the
mouth under normal conditions. Mercury amalgams are reliably
exposing the person to mercury on a near constant basis - the
more amalgam surfaces, the greater the exposure.
You are immune exposed to all the dental metals in your mouth.
However, that fact alone doesn't mean you are immune sensitized
to any of the metals.
People ultimately act on faith and hope to remove their mercury
dental fillings when following a process of elimination. After
taking that leap of faith many have found relief and certainty
of cause by their own progress towards better health. Though
it is only seldom that mercury-amalgam removal alone will result
in a total restoration of health.
MELISA® Test. Melisa is presently the only objective
test in our awareness that provides direct evidence for illness
caused by exposure to mercury and other dental metals. Lymphocytes
don't lie or imagine, they swell up and multiply when stimulated
with the metal or pathogen they are programmed to remember.
2. Detoxifying the teeth. Whether a person is receiving
toxicity from a mercury buildup, or immune stimulation from an
immune sensitized metal, the first step towards recovering health
is to remove the metal sources. This especially includes the
mercury and nickel, and possibly other metals found in dental
Safe removal of mercury fillings is an important consideration.
Drilling can cause a large one-time exposure of mercury vapor.
Mercury vapor is poisonous, and can cause a worsening of problems
if allowed to be added to your other exposures. 80% of mercury
vapor breathed into the lungs enters the bloodstream where it
freely travels to the brain and other vital organs and tissues.
A rubber dam properly installed during drilling
will slow the rate mercury vapor directly enters the tissues
of the mouth, will stop amalgam particles from going down the
throat, and will funnel mercury vapor out of your mouth.
Suction under the rubber dam will remove mercury
vapor that accumulates underneath the dam. A rubber dam doesn't
stop mercury vapor, it slows it down so that the vapor produced
by the high speed drill doesn't impell directly into the mouth
Breathing from a respirator becomes essential
to reduce exposure since the opening to the mouth is in the immediate
area where your nostrils draw air. Using the rubber dam will
protect the mouth and throat tissues while increasing the mercury
vapor available for nostril breathing.
There are other considerations that don't have a wide consensus,
such as the order the fillings should be removed, and how much
to do in one sitting. These are important individual considerations
for you and your physician(s) to work out.
3. Go to metal-free dental restoration materials. All
ceramic systems are now becoming widely available. These have
the highly desirable attribute of not corroding and releasing
any metals into the mouth.
Metal-free is the standard of care for those suffering "amalgam
illness" in Sweden. Even with a MELISA test you cannot determine
what metals you will become immune sensitized against. Persons
with immune sensitivity to one metal have much higher odds of
developing a similar sensitivity to another metal.
If you are acting on a process of elimination and without
certain knowledge from a MELISA test, then you are further increasing
your odds of a positive outcome by eliminating all metals - since
you cannot know which ones or how many you are reacting against.
It is very common to be sensitized to more than one dental metal.
Every metal used in dentistry, including gold, titanium, and
platinum, has been demonstrated to cause a T-cell mediated immune
allergy in some people.
Nickel, a common base metal used in low cost crowns and as
a hardening agent in expensive gold crowns, causes immune sensitivity
the most often, mercury is the next most reactive metal. Even
gold has a 1 in 3 chance of becoming an immune irritant for a
We are aware of a case where a person became immune sensitized
to gold after having all amalgams removed with nickel-free gold
alloy crowns installed for the first time.
Gold sensitivity was demonstrated by bleeding gums in association
with the gold crowns, and a ring finger rash from a previously
tolerated gold ring. This person was objectively demonstrated
to be immune sensitized to gold, nickel, and mercury via subsequent
4. Restore normal metabolism. Many of the symptoms
arising from "amalgam illness" are believed to result
from a persistent immune activation wasting away nutritional
resources, and direct disturbances in trace mineral metabolism.
Depletion of intracellular glutathione stores are a common
result of extended immune activation and from extended mercury
exposure. This depletion can be directly related to symptoms
of poor immune response and symptoms of hypothyroidism (low thyroid),
among many other problems.
In a healthy state the body's stores of glutathione come to
the defense by binding circulating mercury as it oxidizes, and
carrying the metal in the waste flow via the liver and kidneys.
A slow down in this natural process may be the first step in
immune sensitization, allowing mercury levels to build to a level
that enrages the immune system.
An activated immune system further consumes body stores of
glutathione, possibly leaving the body even more sensitive and
with less defense against the continuous exposure of toxic dental
Restoring intracellular glutathione, antioxidants, B-vitamins,
and rare trace minerals are the long term remedy for many of
the symptoms of "amalgam illness". Metabolic restoration
can begin even when the suspect metals are still in the teeth.
For some people, IV preparations of nutrients will be required
at first to by-pass disrupted digestion and absorption.
Others can go straight to much less expensive oral supplements
such as "Defense & Replenish"
and "Glutathione Precursors"
from CFS Nutrition.
5. Reduce the body burden of mercury. There are several
drugs and at least one nutrient that seem quite effective in
enhancing the body's detoxification rate of extracellular mercury.
Each of these are described as a "dithiol" compound.
DMPS is an experimental drug, legally available in the USA
only from medical researchers under special FDA license.
DMSA is available for prescription under a general FDA approval,
though its primary approval is for eliminating a body burden
of lead, not mercury.
Alpha lipoic acid is a naturally occurring compound found
in very small amounts in potatoes and other foods, and is available
over-the-counter as a food supplement.
In doses able to heavily influence the excretion of mercury,
all of these compounds have anecdotal problem reports. One reason
that seems likely is the further disregulation of important trace
minerals caused by these powerful chelating agents. Dithiols
pull strongly on essential minerals and not just heavy metals
like mercury and lead.
You should know there is an ongoing controversy regarding
the safety of dithiol chelators and the use of DMPS in particular.
Visit Jana's DMPS Backfire
website for information you may not recieve at a DMPS chelation
It has been our observation that people wo are on a more sure
metabolic footing nutritionally seem to cope with chelation drugs
The safest strategy we know for mercury detoxification is
to rely upon the body's natural glutathione pathway. This strategy
is based on chronic use of 3-5 grams of Glutathione Precursor
amino acids per day for periods of months. Glutathione's role
is detoxification, blunting the toxicity of mercury, and excretion
of mercury out of the body. Glutathione excretion of mercury
is slower than with chelating agents, but beleived to be much
safer providing a person with the other benefits of increased
glutathione in the process.
For more aggressive strategies in enhancing mercury excretion
we strongly suggest you consult a physician with a proven record
of success in chelating heavy metals while avoiding "backfires",
restoring their patients to a more normal health.