Root canals can sometimes make people sick.  Even tooth extractions can cause lasting illness if the cavitations are not cleaned properly.

You may have heard also about the problems associated with dental fillings.  The "silver" fillings in your mouth are actually over 50% mercury.  Yes, they are made from one of the most toxic substances on earth.  See the Mercury Amalgam section below for more information.

Cavitations and Extractions

When a tooth is extracted, dead tissue can be left behind.  This has been known to cause serious fatigue.  Cleaning out this "cavitation" can improve things dramatically.  This is relatively inexpensive to do.

I heard from Jeanmarie who wrote:

Frank: I had written to you about candida several times. I just wanted to tell you what has helped my health immensely. I had my mercury fillings removed as I was going through homeopathic detox which helped a lot, but I still had this strange potassium problem for 3 yrs. I had two cavitations cleaned out (infected bone where wisdom teeth used to be) and I had dramatic change in health in first week. My potassium deficiency disappeared, my libido came back, and now my need for synthroid is decreasing!!!!!! It is hard to believe. DDS said it did not reach into sinuses, and I know you suffer with sinus stuff; perhaps this is your answer. Please read, "Whole Body Dentistry" by Mark Breimer DDS. and read chapter on cavitations especially. 

Good luck. Jeanmarie

Root Canals

When a root canal is done, the center of the tooth including the nerve is drilled out leaving what is really a dead tooth.  Some dentists say that this dead tooth can become infected.  There is no pain since there is no nerve left.  Even small infections such as this can greatly affect a person's health.

Pulling a root canal filled tooth is more expensive since the tooth will have to be replaced with some kind of bridge.

I recently learned of an excellent site devoted to the dangers of root canals.  There are numerous first-hand accounts.

Mercury Amalgam Fillings

Some people see major improvement after having all their mercury fillings removed.  Most don't get much improvement.  So, is it worth it to have your fillings replaced, something that could easily run over $10,000?  This is a difficult question.  I will try to summarize what I know and let you decide.

I had mine replaced and I did see some improvement, though not as much as I hoped.

I am in no way an expert on this subject.  So, why am I writing this?  When I suspected that mercury might be at the root of my problem, I started reading about it and reading what others on the web had to say.  At first, I was very confused, but eventually I think I started to make sense of it all.  I am writing this in hopes of clarifying this for people.

There is one site that has excellent arguments on this.  I urge you to go there and read the page.  (Come back when you are done!)

My Mixed Results

I had not been to the dentist in over a year, but I finally made the appointment and went.  I was told that an old composite filling in the upper right needed to be replaced.  (A composite filling is one that is primarily nonmetallic.  There are a large variety of materials used in composite fillings and some metals may be present.)

I had still been suffering from significant fatigue and prostate problems.  The airflow through the right nostril was significantly worse than the left.

The dentist replaced the old composite and within two days my prostate problems improved greatly!  There was also marginal improvement in the sinus problems.  The airflow through the right nostril improved and was now equal with the left.  This was from the replacement of just one filling.  The confusing part is that this was an old filling that did not contain mercury.

I spoke with an MD who is the head of the allergy clinic at a major teaching hospital and asked if he had seen sinus problems clear up.  He said he had!  He believes that this is due to nerve problems that can be caused by old fillings and not by the toxic effects of the materials themselves.  A nurse at the clinic had also seen improvement from the replacement of fillings.

I then asked my alternative MD about this.  He has also seen major improvement in sinus problems from replacement of fillings.  Now here is the dilemma.  He had seen it in a few cases, but in most cases there was no improvement.

I decided to have all my mercury fillings replaced after that.  Unfortunately, I saw no further improvement.

Why Does It Cause Problems?

For many years the American Dental Association claimed that mercury does not leak out of mercury fillings despite considerable evidence to the contrary.  In the early '80s, they finally admitted it does leak, but contended that it leaks in only small amounts.

Urine analysis was done on people who had mercury fillings and it was shown that they resulted in a modest increase in mercury output.  The problem is that this only measures the amount of mercury being excreted from the body, not the amount being retained.  It has been shown that significant amounts of mercury can be retained in the body organs.

Mercury is extremely poisonous.  What many people don't know is that it is also highly allergenic!  This may explain why mercury fillings can cause major sinus problems.

Can You Believe the American Dental Association?

The American Dental Association (ADA) has repeatedly stated that there have been fewer than 100 cases of mercury hypersensitivity reported in the medical literature. For an example of this, see the ADA's FAQ on dental materials.

It took me less than 30 minutes to demonstrate this statement is false.  I did a search of Medline and located almost 150 documented cases of oral lichenoid lesions that were caused by mercury amalgam allergy. One study in 1995 alone found almost 100 such cases.  In fact, these studies indicate the amalgam is likely the leading cause of such lesions that occur in thousands of people worldwide.

How can the ADA make a statement that is so obviously false?  While this fact does not necessarily prove that mercury causes other problems, it does call into question the credibility of the ADA on the issue of mercury amalgams.

The studies can be found in Medline at the following URLs:

Healing of lichenoid reactions following removal of amalgam. A clinical follow-up.

In vitro lymphocyte proliferation test in the diagnosis of oral mucosal hypersensitivity reactions to dental amalgam.

The relevance and effect of amalgam replacement in subjects with oral lichenoid reactions.

Oral lichenoid lesions caused by allergy to mercury in amalgam fillings.

Oral lichenoid lesions, mercury hypersensitivity and combined hypersensitivity to mercury and other metals: histologically-proven reproduction of the reaction by patch testing with metal salts.

Why Your Dentist Can't Tell You

In most states a dentist could lose his or her license for recommending amalgam removal.  Dr. Hal Huggins, perhaps the best-known anti-mercury crusader in the world lost his license in Colorado for this very reason.  The law in Colorado has since been changed to prevent this from happening again, but it is easy to see why dentists are afraid of persecution.

This leads to some strange conversations with dentists.  They simply can't answer your questions!

The irony is that amalgam replacement probably helps only in a fraction of all cases and yet dentists can't tell you this either!

Biocompatibility Blood Testing

There are a variety of filling materials available.  Deciding which one to get can be very confusing.  I think I've finally gotten it figured out and want to relay my information.

Did you know that you can be allergic to dental materials?  Mercury is especially allergenic.  Dentists are constantly placing filling materials without the slightest idea if their patients are allergic to the materials or not!  Since the companies that make these materials don't disclose what's in them, the dentist doesn't even know what he/she is putting in your mouth.

Always see a dentist that uses biocompatibility blood testing.  Before getting any kind of filling, have the blood test done.  This will run about $250 and will tell you if you have an allergy to any dental filling materials.  The results come in a booklet that will tell you which commercial dental materials you are and are not allergic to.

Note that the test is not perfect.  You could become allergic to a material after it is placed in your mouth, but it is still worth it in my opinion.

See Clifford Consulting for more information.  They can also refer you to a dentist that uses their tests.

Pros and Cons of Different Filling Materials

There are enough filling material choices out there to make your head spin.  The major categories of filling materials are: mercury amalgam, composite, indirect composite and gold.  The difference between composites and indirect composites is especially important.  If I had known the difference, I would not have allowed one dentist to replace four of my amalgams with composites.  I would have insisted on indirect composites instead.

Mercury Amalgams

Ordinary Composites

There are a large variety of materials used in composites.  Some of these materials are toxic or allergenic.  See "Biocompatibility Blood Testing" above for information on how to select a good filling material.  Assuming that you are using an approved material, the following is true:

Gold

Some dentists feel that gold is the best dental material.  Others disagree.  Dental materials are never made from pure gold.  They are always mixed with other metals, some of which may be toxic or allergenic.

Some people say that up to 30% of people who are allergic to mercury are also allergic to gold.

See "Biocompatibility Blood Testing" above for information on how to select the right type of gold dental material.

Indirect Composites

These are a new type of dental material.  Don't be fooled by the name.  A "composite" is simply a material that is primarily non-metallic.  There are many materials used in composites.

Ordinary composites are hardened in the mouth.  This severely limits the type of materials that can be used.  An indirect composite is manufactured in a lab and then glued into the mouth.  This allows for far more materials which solves many of the problems that occur with ordinary composites.

There are a large variety of materials used in indirect composites.  As with ordinary composites, some of these materials are toxic or allergenic.  See "Biocompatibility Blood Testing" above for information on how to select a good filling material.  Assuming that you are using an approved material, the following is true:

Mercury Fillings and Children

When an initial amalgam filling is placed in a tooth that has never had one before, a larger amount of the tooth has to be drilled away.  If a small composite is placed for just a few more dollars, less of the tooth must be drilled away.  This larger amount of drilling weakens the tooth hastening the day when tooth will need an expensive crown, root canal or when it must be pulled.

Small composites are only a few dollars more expensive than amalgam and last just as long.

At the very least, once a large amalgam filling has been placed, it must be replaced either with another amalgam or with a much more expensive indirect composite or gold inlay.  It can be replaced with regular composites, but large composites are weaker and don't last more than five or six years.

Don't place amalgams in your children!  Use small composites instead!

Conclusion

Cleaning of old cavitations from where teeth were previously extracted is reasonably inexpensive and may produce dramatic results.  Extraction of a root canal filled tooth can be more expensive since it will require replacement with some kind of bridge, but can also lead to great improvement sometimes.

Replacement of old fillings including mercury fillings is the most expensive option often costing upwards of $10,000.  It sometimes leads to dramatic improvement, but usually does not.

If money is no object and you have tried everything else, it may be worth it to have your amalgams replaced.  You should certainly do it if you have been told you have oral lichenoid lesions.  Otherwise, I would recommend that people go to their dentist regularly and have their old fillings replaced when needed.  Always have your fillings replaced with a safe alternative discussed above and not with mercury.  Never place a new mercury filling in your mouth.

For reasons discussed above, never place a mercury filling in the mouth of your child!  They weaken the teeth and will hasten the day when your children will lose their teeth!

References

There are several sites and books from which you can learn more information:

It's All In Your Head by Dr. Hal Huggins, DDS

This is probably the best book on mercury free dentistry.  There are two drawbacks in my opinion.  First, it lacks information on indirect composites which were introduced just a few years ago.

Second, it lacks information on the success rate of amalgam replacement.  Sometimes the results are dramatic, but usually there is little or only marginal improvement.

Uninformed Consent by Dr. Hal Huggins, DDS and Dr. Thomas Levy, MD.

I didn't like this book.  I felt it was poorly written.  I read it hoping it would tell me what materials I should replace my amalgams with.  It didn't.

The book has two authors.  Many passages are written in the first person.  The authors often relate personal experiences, but it is so badly written, that I often didn't know which author was talking which was important in many cases!

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT)

This site has much useful information on mercury amalgams.

Metals Discussion List

This is an excellent listserv where mercury amalgam issues are discussed.

Hugnet

This is the Dr. Huggin's web-site.

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