History of Amalgam Mercury Fillings

Dental fillings are used to repair a tooth that has suffered from tooth decay and help restore its original form. Dental amalgam is a primitive filling material consisting of about 50% liquid (elemental) mercury. So how is it that this toxic substance has ended up in our mouths? Early French dentists discovered that mixing silver with mercury would allow the alloy to bond at room temperature. In the 1830s this practice was introduced to American dentists but was denounced due to dangers of mercury exposure. The American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS), formed in the 1840s, declared the use of dental amalgam to be malpractice and required its members to sign pledges promising not to use amalgam. After the ASDS disbanded, the American Dental Association was formed in 1859 but did not take a stand on the amalgam issue. Whether it has to do with liability issues or other reasons, even today however, the ADA continues to support amalgams, saying that they are safe and do not present a health threat. (The Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, declared amalgams a hazardous substance in 1989.) Does it make sense that the ADA supports amalgam fillings?  Not to many people.  This is what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says, verbatim from their website: "Dental amalgam contains elemental mercury. It releases low levels of mercury in the form of a vapor that can be inhaled and absorbed by the lungs. High levels of mercury vapor exposure are associated with adverse effects in the brain and the kidneys." The International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology has more information on mercury vapors and also discusses the toxic effects of mercury and, of course, has protocols for safe amalgam removal. People may think that 'silver' fillings are safe and desirable, perhaps because the word silver sounds benign, even valuable.  But such fillings should really be called mercury fillings or mercury amalgam fillings, as they contain 50% mercury - and 50% more mercury than silver. (A silver-colored mercury amalgam filling contains about 50% mercury and 34% silver.) Other than radioactive material, mercury is the most toxic element on earth. Manufacturers are thus required to label amalgam with warnings of potential health risks. Yet dentists rarely inform patients that their silver-colored amalgam fillings contain 50% of the toxic metal mercury. On average, amalgam fillings weigh about 1 gram and contain ½ gram of mercury. The average American has 8 amalgam fillings, or 4 grams of mercury in the mouth. Just one gram of mercury - the amount of two fillings - deposited annually in a 20 acre lake - can contaminate the fish in that lake. For a personal story about the danger of removing amalgam fillings without following the correct procedure, click here.   Learn more at: naturalnews.com