INFERTILITY, BIRTH DEFECTS, AND FETAL DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS RELATED TO MERCURY FROM DENTAL FILLINGS III

Also while it has been known that the general public is commonly exposed to methylmercury which is the main form of mercury in fish, it has not been commonly understood that there was significant widespread exposure to inorganic mercury. Although it has now been well documented that the major exposure to mercury for most people is from amalgam fillings and that likewise maternal amalgam fillings are a major source of exposure for the fetus and infants, this information has not been widely publicized and appears to be unknown to the majority of doctors, dentists, and the public. This paper clarifies and documents some of these recent findings, and also reviews the fertility and fetal development effects of mercury vapor, which have been documented at even lower levels than for methylmercury in some cases.II. Mechanisms of Mercury Leakage from Amalgam fillings and Levels of Exposure.The average amalgam filling weighs more than ½ gram and is 50% mercury. Mercury is known to have a low vapor pressure and to be continuously vaporized and absorbed by the body. Amalgam has also been shown to act like a battery, setting up galvanic currents in the mouth, resulting in high levels of mercury being deposited through this action in the oral tissues and mucosa, from which it also spreads to other parts of the body[17-23]. Levels commonly found in the oral tissues of those with amalgam fillings were 100 to 1200 times the FDA/EPA action level for health warnings in food, which is 1 part per million (ppm) mercury[4].