Is Your Mouth Poisoning Your Body? Mercury Fillings and Your Health

I have a huge regret.  One that has literally cost me thousands of dollars and intense physical pain.  I wish I had known better.  I wish I had made better choices.  The decisions I made so long ago affect me even today!  What is that regret?  Not taking better care of my teeth.

I’m sure you can relate.  I remember Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was my favorite movie as a kid.  And for good reason!  What kid wouldn’t want to go to a place where everything is edible candy? My vice, and probably the worst thing I could have done to my teeth, was sour candy.  I would even eat lemons dipped in sugar!  Yep, there went my tooth enamel!  I’m sure all the acid ate it right off.

To look at me you wouldn’t necessarily expect that I have had bad teeth.  My teeth are straight (thanks to braces) and they’re not discolored or yellow.  But inside my mouth lies a plethora of fillings that I’m downright ashamed of.  I’m a naturopath and considered a health nut by many.  I’m not supposed to have any health issues, right?

I remember going to the dentist at 19 years old.  I was in college, living off of diet coke, coffee, and low-fat foods.  I was obviously malnourished and burning the candle at both ends.  I hadn’t begun my journey in natural healthyet, so I was just plain ignorant of what I was doing to my body.  The dentist’s consensus?  I had 5 large cavities, 2 small cavities, and I needed a root canal.

I was overwhelmed to say the least, but the drilling commenced.  I chose amalgam (silver) fillings because he said they would last longer and they were cheaper.  I also chose a gold crown for the same reason.  I had no idea what I was doing and the consequences that would later follow.

The Dangers of Amalgams

Most dentists will tell you it is a fallacy.  They were taught in dental school that amalgams are perfectly safe.  Six years after I had my mouth filled with metal, I became very concerned about all the “silver” fillings in my mouthand voiced my concerns to my dentist. He explained it to me like this, “The mercury doesn’t leach from amalgams because it’s bonded to other metals.”

I wanted to believe him.  But, by that point I had read all about the dangers of amalgam fillings.  I was showing a lot of the symptoms a mercury buildup.  My mouth was full of mercury and it was slowly chipping away at my health.

Amalgam fillings are composed of about 50% mercury mixed with silver, copper, and tin.  When you eat, drink, chew gum, or even brush your teeth, these fillings give off a mercury vapor.  The vapor isn’t toxic enough to hurt you immediately, but over years and years mercury builds up by depositing itself in major organs of our body.  It likes to “hide” in the body, which is why it won’t show up in urine tests for mercury.

Some of the symptoms of amalgam poisoning are:

• Memory loss
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Numbness and tingling in hands, feet, and fingers
• Twitching in hands, feet, fingers, and eyes
• Stiff neck and/or shoulder pain
• Nausea
• Gas, bloating, and digestive issues
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Tinnitus
• Candida

Many times people have metal appliances or gold crowns in their mouth in addition to amalgam fillings. Mixing these metals in your mouth can cause even more issues! Your mouth becomes like a battery of sorts.  Your saliva acts as the medium and conducts electrons in your mouth.  This battery-like effect can disrupt neurological activity in the body!  And because our mouth is so close to our brain, it’s said that this conduction of electricity, though small, can cause anxiety, depression, and migraines!

Safe Amalgam Removal

When people understand that they are essentially being poisoned from metals inside their mouth, they make a mad dash to the dentist to have their amalgams removed.  Unfortunately, this can actually cause more harm!  If a dentist doesn’t use the proper removal techniques, an extremely toxic amount of mercury vapor can be released leaving you sicker than before!  Leaving the fillings in is actually safer than having them removed improperly.

Even after knowing about the dangers my fillings could pose, I left my amalgams in for several years.  I started by saving my money and began a search for the right dentist.  The absolute best dentist for amalgam removal will call himself or herself either a Biological Dentist or Holistic Dentist.  These dentists take every precaution to make sure you are not absorbing any mercury vapors during the filling removal.

There are two directories that can help you locate a one closest to you.

• Biological Dentistry Directory
• Holistic Dental

Please note many dentists are jumping on the trend of removing amalgams and calling themselves “Mercury Free” dentists.  Although they don’t use amalgams for fillings any more, most of them are not believers in holistic practices.  Many even use the correct equipment for filling removal. But, don’t be fooled!  They may believe amalgam fillings aren’t healthy, but they don’t embrace the other alternative methods of healthy teeth.  You’re likely to still end up drill happy dentist who fills your mouth full of fillings. But, at least they’re white fillings, right?

Not All Composites are Equal

I warn against “Mercury-Free” dentists from experience.  A few summers ago I had finally saved up the money it was going to cost to have my fillings redone. The well-known biological dentist in my area had recently retired.  I found a dentist who advertised “Mercury-Free” and I met her for a consult.  She was kind, and shared many of my concerns with amalgams as she herself had suffered from issues from mercury buildup in her body.  I did, however, bring up several subjects like naturally healing cavities and oil pulling. She looked at me very puzzled.  I knew then that she wasn’t versed on holistic methods.  But, at the time I was satisfied enough knowing that she had the appropriate tools to remove my fillings safely. I booked several appointments to have all my fillings removed.  I started with the right side of my mouth.  I never made it to the left side.

I immediately started having issues with two of my teeth.  The sensitivity wasn’t going away and hot and cold foods were causing a lot of aching pain in those teeth.  I returned to her office concerned and she took an x-ray and said everything looked fine.  She assured me that composites are more temperamental and that the sensitivity would probably resolve.

Unfortunately, it didn’t.  I ended up spending this Christmas in intense pain with a dying and infected tooth!  As the pain increased, so did my anger.  I had shelled out over a thousand dollars redoing my fillings!  In my attempt to make my mouth healthier, I ended up with a dying tooth!

I was left with two options; pull the tooth or a root canal.  I understood that root canals can be a breeding ground for toxic bacteria, but I also didn’t want to lose a tooth.  So I went on a hunt for a TRUE biological dentist.

I found one about an hour from my house using one of the links I posted above.  My visit with this dentist was unlike any other dental visit.  He began by testing me via kinesiology techniques for everything he was going to put inside my mouth.  He later examined my teeth and informed me that my body was rejecting the new composite fillings. He explained it by comparing it to an autoimmune reaction or a transplant rejection.  My body didn’t like the new fillings and my immune system was reacting. This over reaction caused my immune system to attack my tooth!

How could this be?  Composite fillings are healthier than the amalgams that were in my mouth, right?  He looked at me and said, “There are hundreds of different kinds of composites.  The key is finding one that your body accepts.”  He tested me via kinesiology on several and found one my body reacted the kindest too.

Composite fillings may be far less poisonous than mercury, but they can still contain ingredients that cause your body to react unfavorably.  Some of those include:

• Acrylate
• Aluminum
• Formaldehyde
• Polyurethane

Moral of the story when it comes to getting your fillings redone?

• Find a true biological dentist who practices many holistic
• Make sure they test you for what composite filling works best with your body via kinesiology or blood work

How to Avoid Fillings

Given what I have gone through with my teeth, it painsme that I could have avoided all the money spent and all those hours in a dentist’s chair.  That drill could have never touched my teeth had I known what I know now!  This is simply because CAVITIES CAN HEAL!  Just like a bone breaks and heals, our teeth, which are made up of the same material, can heal as well!

I wish I could teleport myself back to that 19 year old me at the dentist and whisper the secrets to healthy, cavity free teeth in my ear.  But, you live and you learn!  I now use the principles I’ve learned on my children and myself.  I haven’t had any new cavities in years and all three of my children are cavity free!

Most dentists believe that sugars combined with bacteria form plaque and emit an acid that eats away the tooth enamel.  Although this may contribute, I’m not fully convinced this is the main cause of tooth decay.

Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist and pioneer of holistic methods in mouth health believed there were other contributing factors to tooth decay.  He spent years researching and came to the conclusion that tooth decay was truly a result of:

• Lack of minerals in the diet
• Lack of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, and K specifically)

Our teeth are comprised of minerals, therefore an abundance of minerals are needed through our diet.  Eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods robs your body those essential minerals.  Not only are those types of foods lacking in minerals, they also block mineral absorption!  Phytates from grains bind to minerals blocking their absorption and sugar depletes your body of nutrients.  Soon, your body starts pulling minerals from your bones and teeth to maintain proper a proper mineral balance in in the blood.  This leaves your teeth weak and susceptible to decay.

The remedy for hard, mineralized teeth?

• Avoid sugar and grains
• Consume healthy fats like pasture butter, coconut oil, and raw milk
• Take cod liver oil daily (high in vitamin D and A)
• Take a tsp. of butter oil daily (Dr. Price called this the X factor and it was later found to be vitamin K2)
• Consume bone broth or gelatin for tooth strengthening keratin and minerals

There are testimonies all over the internet of cavities literally disappearing and holes in the teeth closing.  I had an old college friend message me a few months back thanking me for an old post I had put on Facebook about healing cavities.  She gave her son butter oil and cod liver oil daily for a couple months and the cavities that were going to cost them hundreds to have filled had disappeared! Even their dentist was amazed!

Don’t make the same mistakes I made! Try healing your cavities naturally before letting a drill into your mouth.  Also, search for a biological dentist who is open to holistic methods and can fix your teeth in the most non-invasive safe way possible.  I wrote this article in hopes of saving others from the awful experience I’ve had with my teeth.  Everything starts with good nutrition and balance in your body…even healthy teeth!

 

 

 

A free online version of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price: http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/pricetoc.html
https://www.amazon.com/Cure-Tooth-Decay-Cavities-Nutrition/dp/1434810607/ref=sr_1_1
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Pastures-Blue-Fermented-Liver/dp/B002LZYPS0/ref=sr_1_1
http://www.amazon.com/High-Vitamin-Butter-Grass-Organic/dp/B004LKDKFC/ref=sr_1_2