Probably the most common problem found on dental exams is a mouth full of amalgam fillings. Amalgam literally means “mixed with mercury,” and mercury accounts for 50 percent of dental-filling material. Excepting plutonium, mercury is probably the most toxic element known, and while it has been used in dental fillings for more than 160 years, its use has always been controversial. Beginning in the 1830s, when it was first introduced, then again in the 1920s, and most recently in the 1970s, many dentists, doctors, and scientists have argued that mercury leaches out of the filling material and accumulates in body tissue.
The most common sites of detrimental influence are the nervous system, brain, and kidneys. Many research studies now confirm amalgam-filling leaching. It occurs in part through masticating and drinking hot liquids but also through the electrical currents that are produced by metal fillings and other metal appliances in the conductive saline environment of the mouth. The mercury vapor and particles change into methyl mercury, a very poisonous chemical that can travel anywhere in the body.
While the American Dental Association argues that the amounts of mercury released into the body are insignificant, it’s becoming increasingly clear that even a very small amount, perhaps as little as a few micrograms, can severely disturb cellular function. Yet recent research shows that the average mouthful of amalgam fillings releases up to 150 micrograms per day. This means ongoing, severe poisoning, especially for those individuals who are particularly sensitive or allergic to mercury.
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